Zodiac
by TheShoelessOne
Summary: Sequel to Vice and Virtue. Even the stars and the planets can't predict where the lives of River and Jayne Cobb will lead them. Rayne. CHAPTER 10 FINALLY UP!
1. Taurus

**Taurus**

* * *

_Taurus_ (The Bull) : Keyword: "I have". Resourceful, thorough, devoted, patient, indulgent, sensual, affectionate, possessive, cautious, acquisitive, musical, artistic, stubborn, solid, earthy, strong, sturdy, slow, kind, just. _Ruling Planet_ : Venus ; Relationships and partnerships of all kinds, romantic love, desire for beauty, harmony and co-operation, personal comforts and possessions, the arts, fashions and social life. Ruler of the zodiac signs Taurus and Libra.

* * *

It became apparent that no one was allowed to tell Ma Cobb 'no'.

After he'd built up the strength to write out the words, Jayne wrote to his mother that he'd gotten himself hitched while out in the black. It took only three days for her to receive the letter and trek in to town to wave _Serenity_. Wash was the unfortunate soul who answered the wave, and the same man who poked his head down into Jayne's bunk to let him know that someone was wanting to speak with him.

"Hell, Wash, you look like you seen a ghost," Kaylee remarked as she walked by.

Jayne shook his head, smirking as River helped him climb out of the bunk. "Naw," he clarified with a laugh, "he just seen my Ma."

Jayne settled into the pilot's chair, grinning widely at his mother. They looked almost eerily alike; the same blue eyes, the same high forehead, and identical noses. Her dark hair was pulled back away from her face in a bun, with greying strands hanging in her face. She looked a delightfully portly woman, but at the moment, she wasn't smiling.

"Howdy, Ma," he said first to initiate conversation. River watched placidly from the copilot's seat, smirking pleasantly at her man.

Wash had caught them just short of ripping one another's clothes off, and in Jayne's excitement to see his mother, he'd completely forgotten to find his shirt again. The healing wound just near his heart was still red and loud, on which his mother's eyes fixed immediately. River was out of the view of the camera in her little blue nightie, something Jayne was quite fond of. He flicked his glance to her momentarily, then looked back to his mother to find her frowning at him.

"Jayne Mortimer Cobb," she scolded right off the bat. Jayne's grin dropped off upon hearing his well-hidden middle name out of the blue. River stifled a giggle. "Why ain't I ever heard a lick 'bout this girl yer alluva sudden hitched ta?"

"I ain't had time t' write, Ma!" He tried desperately to redeem himself, looking desperately over to River at intervals. "'Sides, you know I ain't good with the words, and writin' 'em is even harder!"

River couldn't help herself and finally laughed. "Story of his life," she muttered. Ma Cobb's ears perked up.

"Who's there with ya, Jayne? That yer Missus? Get 'er on here so I can see 'er, Jayne." Ma Cobb brought her battered glasses from her dress pocket and adjusted them on the bridge of her nose.

Jayne looked over to River, who stood. In one slow, fluid movement, the lithe girl sat gently in Jayne's lap, avoiding any place she knew him to be sore. As River smiled politely into the camera, Ma Cobb brightened considerably.

"Salutations," River said. "River Andromeda Cobb, née Tam. The pleasure is mine. Shall I call you Mother?"

Jayne tried his hardest not to laugh, gripping River's thigh fondly as his only response. Ma Cobb blinked slightly, not sure what to say. Almost at once, she regained herself.

"Pleased t' meet ya, darlin'. Y'all can just call me Ma." She turned her eyes back to Jayne, and instantly was melded back into a frown. "So, yer headin' home, then, ain't ya?"

"What?" Jayne exclaimed at once, looking quickly at River, then back. "I don't fly this thing, Ma. I ain't got no say on--"

"Well, if that scared little redheaded fella was yer pilot, I reckon won't take much doin' t' get that ship on down t' see yer Ma. And tell that crew 'a yours that they're all invited."

"Invited t' what?" Jayne asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Why, yer weddin', Jayne!"

This was when the crew of _Serenity_ learned that no one argued with Ma Cobb. One look at the screen was all Wash needed to convince him to set a course for Jayne's home moon of Aberdeen as quick as humanly possible. A stare-down quickly ensued between Jayne's mother and Malcolm Reynolds, the latter of which surprisingly caved. His excuse later was to include the need to consume large amounts of cake and alcohol, not necessarily in that order.

Unsurprisingly, Kaylee and Ma Cobb got along famously.

Aberdeen was a ways off from Demeter, the site of their last job, and it took a good five days. This, of course, included a stop off on Persephone to pick up a few things they found necessary for the celebration. Zoe was in charge of the female procession, and Mal lead the male contingent. While the girls searched for the most absolutely shiny dresses possible in their price range, the boys bought the booze. Jayne insisted on a box of celebratory cigars, despite Simon's warnings. They fitted Jayne up for a new tux, Mal grinning like a little boy at the ridiculousness of his big ol' merc in a penguin suit. Said merc complained on and on, but in the end seemed satisfied with what he was able to get his hands on.

They arrived on Aberdeen the following Wednesday, just before evening set in. The port in the nearest town, Gabriel, was small and nearly empty when they arrived. The daily influx of traders had already shipped out, which left plenty of room for Jayne's reception.

Mal was fairly sure that the rabble in Canton had been fairly tame in comparison to the crowd of family and friends that met _Serenity_ in Gabriel. Ma Cobb was the first one up the ramp, intercepting her boy and grabbing him in a fierce hug. Most were surprised to find that she barely reached mid-chest on him. A few words were exchanged, and Ma moved away from Jayne to take the skinny girl next to him in a broad, suffocating embrace. Jayne laughed brightly at the face River pulled at the sudden affectionate gesture, like her eyes were likely to pop from their sockets.

The entire wedding party was marched to the Cobb homestead, a good three miles out of town. On the way, Ma explained to Mal the reasoning behind this little venture. She was an old woman. Jayne was her oldest son, and it didn't look like Mattie was ever going to find a good wife. All she wanted was to see her boy get married, and if it meant pulling that ship down out of the sky herself, that was what she was going to do. Mal then explained the circumstances behind Jayne's impromptu marriage in the first place, which made the woman go pale with worry. She watched the two newlyweds with a different eye after that.

Jayne and River walked hand in hand the entire time. She was somehow managing to worm his entire life story out of him now that they were tangibly there on his dusty home world. He had three brothers, one of which was dead, and another of which was Mattie. This second-oldest brother had been sickly ever since childhood, and most feared he wouldn't make it past 18. But here he sat now, a pretty 25, and still sickly. The remaining brother, Geoff, was even younger, just turned 20. Apparently, ever since Jayne left Aberdeen for work, Geoff had taken up the job of being the man of the house, and was doing a damn fine job of it. All three of them looked exactly like their mother.

Around the enormous bonfire that night, much was discussed about the second wedding Ma Cobb had planned. Jayne had decided to detach himself from the hullabaloo and just let things run their own course. River leaned sleepily on his shoulder as he plucked away at his guitar near the fire. A chord progression here and there was all he played, but that was all she needed. Far off, Mal was laughing as he recounted the hilarious happenstance that lead to his finding-out about Jayne and River, eliciting mirrored laughter from onlookers.

"He jests at scars that never felt a wound," she murmured, rubbing her cheek fondly against his shoulder. Jayne plucked out a series of three notes, then looked down at her.

"What you on about, little bear?"

"Romeo and fair Juliet," she clarified, meeting his eyes. "Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. Are you my Romeo, Jayne?"

He thought on this for a moment, as if he actually knew the answer. "Ain't that Romeo fella the one that dies in the end? 'Cause I don't much feel like dyin'."

"Very romantic," she added quietly, resting once again on his shoulder. "Best love story of all time."

Jayne paused, and she felt his smile curl up on its own. "I dunno, I kinda like how ours is turnin' out."

A long, bright smile spread over her face as she looked back up at him, like a rosy dawn after a cold night. For the first time in she didn't know how long, everything else in her head went blank as she leaned up to kiss him.

"Yore that little girl's brother, ain't ya?" Ma Cobb asked as she sidled up beside Simon. The doctor looked up, a little startled. The old woman had an almost River-like way of sneaking up on people, it seemed. After the initial shock, SImon nodded.

"Yes," he extended his hand politely, "Simon Tam." As they shook hands, Simon was able to observe the woman more closely. "I'm sorry if this is rude of me, but you and Jayne look frighteningly similar."

"I get it all the time, darlin'," Ma assured him. "Jayne ain't tellin' me a thing 'bout that little wife 'a his, and I was wonderin' why, s'all."

Simon marveled at the likeness between the two even in accent, then shook his head. "River and I have a long a sordid history behind us, and that's where we'd like to keep it. Again, not to be rude."

"Course not," Ma said, looking slightly disappointed. She tried a different tactic. "I mean, just met 'er and all, but feels like there's somethin'--"

"Off?" Simon suggested, throwing a pebble into the dark twilight. "Yes, she's a bit off. And the more you get to know her, the more of her seems to be that way. But she's my sister, Mrs. Cobb, and I plan on doing what I have to in order to protect her best interests."

Ma Cobb politely took her leave. He wasn't going to give her anything. Thankfully, Wash was a little more talkative.

"Oh, you should've seen them at first," Wash said dramatically, grinning like a fool. "She has this knife--don't ask me why she had the knife; some people juggle geese--and Jayne's just minding his own business sharpening his own scary knives. Then _bam!_ Slices him right there." He mimed the action across his own chest. Ma's eyes widened in fright, but she said nothing. "Lover's spat, I think. Then again, Zoe's never taken a knife to me. Not that she hasn't _threatened_--"

Ma Cobb quickly took her leave. This wasn't painting a pretty picture so far.

"Don't you like River none?" Kaylee protested, looking awfully put-out. "She's got a circuit or two missin' and she runs a little different, but that don't make her less of a girl."

Ma Cobb decided it was time to talk to this River. She hitched up her skirts, ready to speak her piece, but when she rounded the bonfire, she lost all that resolve. The girl was asleep, draped comfortably in Jayne's lap with his fingers in her hair. He looked just about ready to drop off too, but it was the look in his eye that spoke volumes to his Ma. She was very familiar with that look. Her late husband used to look at her like that, like someone had taken all the stars from the sky and put them inside that girl.

The woman sat heavily down beside her son, and he glanced up with a yawn.

"Howdy, Ma," he smirked.

"Jayne," she breathed, exhausted from her information-gathering, "you know I'm all manner 'a happy for ya, that ya finally found yerself a little woman, but I gotta say, that gal ya picked is a piece 'a work."

"Yeah," Jayne agreed, which frankly surprised her, "you're damn right she is. She's been through hell, Ma, and she's a gorram handful. Mood changes quicker'n you can blink. She gives ya that look, she knows just what you're thinkin' on. She's a right li'l witch, but... well, she's _my_ li'l witch."

Finally, a smile broke over his mother's face. "Them's some purdy words, Jayne. Think she'd like 'em."

"They ain't fanciful or anythin' like she can pull out on me. She's been teachin' me some real good ones, like 'obstreperous.' Means loud 'n noisy."

"When Jayne is sexually excited, he is obstreperous," River said sleepily from his lap. A hot blush flashed across Jayne's cheeks at the look his mother gave him, and River yawned and returned to sleep.

"She's just sleep-talkin', Ma," Jayne assured his mother, thinking more on whether he was obstreperous or not. To quickly get off the subject, he added, "I was thinkin' I might get the Doc t' be my best man. Seems fair, don't it?"

"He's got t' walk your gal down the aisle, Jayne," Ma reminded him, her mind still clinging furiously to River's comment. "She ain't got anyone else t' give 'er away."

"Yeah, guess not then. How 'bout Mattie?"

Their talk melded into the night, and eventually, all split apart to sleep. Jayne carried his wife up to the room he used to share with Mattie when they were younger. It was empty now, his brother having moved to room with Geoff. They tried their best to be as un-obstreperous as possible, but once Geoff banged on their door shouting in a sleep-drenched voice, they knew they should get to sleep. They had quite a day before them.

The girls rushed River away early in the morning, wrenching her from the sleeping Jayne's arms. He grunted, turned over, and fell back asleep. The bride had much to prepare before they got her down that aisle that afternoon. It took both Mal and Geoff to wake the sleeping bear, who tried to bat them away like gnats. He finally pulled himself out from under the sheets, looking fairly pissed-off that not only was he awake but without his girl, something that made the Captain back off considerably. Geoff knew his brother better.

The name-calling that ensued would never be bested by any contest in history, Mal decided.

Outside, the friends and family were setting up a ridiculous amount of chairs in the yard. From where Jayne was watching from a window, it seemed to be just over 100 in total. He wasn't sure that many people on Aberdeen knew who he was, let alone cared who he got himself hitched to. Geoff told him to stop gawking and get his gorram bow tie on.

Kaylee had a time keeping River and Jayne separate before the wedding. She knew it sounded silly, but it was tradition for the bride and the groom to see one another before they walked her down the aisle. River was shoved into more broom closets than she'd ever been in before, and in her new dress. But, she reasoned as she pulled a cobweb from her hair, it _was_ tradition.

The tents of the reception were being erected in the field nearby, and the food was arriving from all around Gabriel. And, finally, the shepherd arrived, which signaled the beginning of the ceremony. Jayne grumbled about this and that, about how he didn't know half the people there and didn't want them to see him all mush-i-fied as he was like to get. He and Geoff stared one another down, and Jayne relented at last, stalking down to the shepherd, crossing his arms and looking generally displeased. Mal laughed, Inara looking beautiful on his arm; _that_ was the Jayne he was used to.

Jayne paid the procession no attention: Kaylee linked with a well-dressed Mattie, looking pleased as punch; Mal and Inara following, somehow completely comfortable linked at the elbows and looking just fine; Wash and Zoe contrasted almost as much as any two people could, but they wore identical smiles that day, looking knowingly at Jayne and just grinning.

That scowl fell off Jayne's face when River appeared, Simon beside her. Flabbergasted was the word that came to Inara's mind as she watched the groom practically dissolve right then and there. He straightened himself up as best he could, after the look Simon shot him. Her walk down the aisle was perfect, and her dress couldn't have been shinier. It was white, and long, just like it should be. It hung just off her shoulders, leaving everything upward exposed. Her hair was done up, like a fancy knot tied on the top of her head. And she was smiling. That's what did him in.

He wasn't paying much attention as Simon handed her over to him. Simon waved his hand once in front of Jayne's eyes, and he started, making the assembly giggle to itself. Something rumbled far off. When it came to the "I do's" Jayne answered in the affirmative, followed by his gal. As the preacher finally got around to "You may kiss the bride," the deluge started. Women screamed, covering their hair and dashing for the reception tents. Chairs were toppled over, and flowers were strewn every which way. Water mixed with earth, and all became a muddy brown.

Kaylee looked back over her shoulder as she helped Mattie limp to the tents. There, in the middle of the dark pouring rain, River and Jayne were locked together at the lips. Her dark hair was coming down out of its knot, plastered wet against her face. Clothes clung and the water ran down their faces, but at that moment, none of it mattered. It was them, and nothing else. Mattie had to tug on Kaylee's arm to keep her moving.

It was a full half an hour after Geoff had pounded on their door to no avail when River sat up with a gasp. Jayne snorted in surprise, nearly falling off the bed and tangling himself in the sheets.

"What? What's up?" He was looking about, patting around for his knife. River was deathly silent, looking straight forward into the darkness. Jayne ceased his movement, looking at his wife with one cocked eyebrow. "River?"

She settled her hands gently on her lower abdomen, not saying a single word for a long time. Finally, she turned ever so slightly to face her husband, and to this day he swore that she was literally glowing.

"Jayne," she said softly, "we've made a little bear."

He blinked slowly, not comprehending. "Huh?"

"Complete," she said, suddenly grinning. "Mama Bear, Papa Bear... Baby Bear."

She could see his eyes widen even in the darkness. He glanced down at her stomach, back to her eyes, and remained silent.

"Well," he said at last, "that's somethin'."

* * *

AN: Hello all and welcome back! You've just read the first chapter in the tri-quel! Congrats! So, I've looked up all this stuff on wikipedia, because I'm no expert. I've decided to work as many words from the decription into the story as possible. Hope that doesn't disappoint anyone. I, for one, am just elated that there's a Baby Bear in the picture, and I wrote the gorram thing! On a personal note, I really like Geoff Cobb, and Ma Cobb reminds me of my Mamaw--so, expect to see more of them sometime soon. Thanks so much for reading and sticking with me so far. Stay awesome!! 


	2. Libra

**Libra**

* * *

_Libra_ (The Scales) : Keyword: "I balance". Co-operative, diplomatic, urbane, fair, lazy, partnerships, refined, balance, grace, charm, debative, just, open-minded, social, ideas. _Ruling planet_ : Venus ; Relationships and partnerships of all kinds, romantic love, desire for beauty, harmony and co-operation, personal comforts and possessions, the arts, fashions and social life. Ruler of the zodiac signs Taurus and Libra.

* * *

Breakfast at the Cobb household was not what one would call peaceful, even the morning after a wedding. Thankfully, most of the relatives had cleared out the night before, leaving just the permanent Cobb residents and the crew of _Serenity_ at the long table. And one of their loudest contributors, the groom himself, was uncharacteristically silent that morning. No one could contest that Ma Cobb was one hell of a cook, as even Mal was content with the offerings. Geoff reached right over his oldest brother's plate to grab at the pepper, and Jayne didn't so much as look up. Geoff furrowed his brow, then shoved at Jayne's shoulder.

"Hey, you 'wake yet?" Geoff waved his hand in front of Jayne's eyes looking up at River for help. "What'd you _do_ t' him? Hell, y'all were _loud_ enough--"

"Shut your gorram mouth, Geoff!" Jayne snapped suddenly, grabbing the boy's wrist as it hung in front of his face. Kaylee's spoon clattered to her plate in surprise, and everything went quiet very quickly. At the look of shock on his brother's face, Jayne let his wrist go and flicked his eyes to River.

Before Ma could stick her head in to intervene, Mattie cleared his throat and waved an absent spoon about. "Boys'll be boys, Ma. Let 'em dog at each other."

"Jee-_zus_!" Geoff exclaimed, feeling at his wrist and glaring at Jayne. Book cringed at the other end of the table, and tried to ignore the obscenity. "You tryin' t' kill me, ya meathead?"

"You need t' shut it up 'fore I shut it _for_ you, boy," Jayne warned. "Ain't no way t' talk in front of lady."

"Since when--" Mal began, but Inara's quick fingers digging painfully into his wrist caused the comment to tail off into a short whine of pain. The captain smartly went back to eating.

"Oh, '_scuse_ me, Jayne," Geoff growled. "Here I thought we was a d'mocracy."

Before Jayne could tear his little brother's head off, River's hand was on his shoulder. Jayne held his tongue, and the girl leaned out to get a good look at Geoff. She smiled knowingly, tilting her head slightly.

"Dear little brother," she mused calmly. "Apologies. Papa Bear doesn't know when to stop. And he is antsy." She paused, thinking slightly and looking away from Geoff. "Antsy. Full of ants. Doesn't make any sense."

"Uhh," Geoff gave Simon an incredulous look, "she all right? She looks like 'er eyes are goin' all fuzzy."

"She's fine," Simon said off-handedly, focusing on Jayne. "You do seem more jumpy than usual. It's not my _professional _opinion…" He stressed the following pause with a wondering shrug, spooning more oatmeal into his mouth.

Jayne cleared his throat, knitted his eyebrows, and wordlessly went back to messing with the food on his plate. Everyone noticed it now that Simon had brought it out into the open. Ma cleared her throat in a way her boys knew all too well.

"Jayne, darlin', you got somethin' you wanna get out in th' open?"

He looked to River, who was still muttering to herself about ants, and nudged her with his elbow. Her head shot up, and she was at full attention. "I told 'em 'bout you 'n me. S'your turn."

River smiled. She'd hoped he'd let her tell. She looked directly at Simon when she spoke, as he sat directly across from her. Blunt would be best with this crowd, and she tried her hardest to weed out the unnecessary complexities her mind was apt to make. Then she dropped the bomb.

"I'm pregnant."

Simon snorted in surprise, nearly choking on his oatmeal. Kaylee barely had time to be elated as she whacked Simon on the back to assure he could continue breathing. Mal had a similar and simultaneous reaction, barely able to keep from spitting the milk out of his mouth. Jayne tried to hide the fact that he was shaking with barely-contained laughter at the both of them. Ma Cobb shot to her feet, an accomplishment for a woman her size, looking for all the world like jubilation personified.

"And here I thought I was goin' t' die an old widow with no gran'babies!" Ma crowed excitedly. She threw her arms around her eldest son, who looked overall embarrassed. Geoff snickered.

"You're sure?" Kaylee asked, rubbing a hand up and down Simon's back once he'd regained the ability to breathe.

River gently tapped the side of her head for emphasis, and Kaylee's mouth formed into a perfect "o" in recognition.

"Congrats, then, big brother," Mattie said, followed by a damp cough into his arm. He raised his glass in Jayne's direction, then took a long drink.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Wash warned, holding his forehead in one hand.

"Come on, baby," Zoe said encouragingly, "stop foolin'. You want t' make that girl's smile die off that bad?"

"I'm not one for killing smiles," he admitted with a sigh, looking on as Ma Cobb held Jayne in her death grip. "But the idea of a miniature Jayne is too bizarre to _not_ joke about."

"No," Mal said at once when he'd recovered. The table went quiet again, and River's smile faltered. Jayne managed to wrench himself from his mother's grip, and was suddenly on the defensive.

"Hate t' tell ya, Mal, but you can't say no t' that. That's a gorram _fact_. Ain't no 'yes' or 'no' to it."

"I meant 'no' as in, 'No, you ain't havin' a baby on my ship.' _That_ is a fact, Jayne."

Jayne's chair scraped across the floor as he stood. Mal matched him quickly. Inara tugged on Mal's arm, trying to seat him again.

"Mal, this is ridiculous," she hissed. He tried not to listen to her.

"This is my _wife_, Mal!" Jayne barked suddenly.

It was Book that stood next, and his voice was quick and quiet, but managed to shush everyone almost immediately. "Let's be adults about this, gentlemen." Jayne looked ready to deck someone, which made River beam proudly from beside him. Mal rolled up his sleeves, looking equally pugnacious, which made Inara sigh and hide her face in one hand.

"This ain't a democracy," Mal said coldly, once everyone had quieted down. "It's my ship. There's no votin'; there's me and there's space--nothin' else is a guarantee."

"It may not be a democracy," Book said in a new tone, "but we can at least be diplomatic." There was a pause in which no one spoke, and he turned his eyes to River, smiling. "Congratulations, River. No matter what our captain says, I believe that this is a blessing, something everyone needs in their lives every now and then."

"Some mighty fine speech-i-fyin' there, Shepherd," Mal said as nonchalantly as possible. "But what I say goes on my ship, and if I say no babies, then my ship's gonna be baby-free."

"Disorder and chaos," River murmured, and all eyes flashed to her. "He's afraid. Such a little thing makes such a big difference, just like the girl. Making exceptions, making lies and hiding truths. Doesn't want it to happen again. So much trouble," her lower lip wobbled precariously, "for such a stupid little thing."

She dashed away from the table quick as a cat, thundering up the stairs. Looking after her, Jayne managed to spin on Mal and glare dark and hard. "Now you done it," he growled through clenched teeth. He made a signal with one hand, pointing between the two of them, as if to say, 'we'll finish this later' and he took off up the stairs after her.

Mal nearly quailed under the combined glares from all around him. Especially the women-folk.

"She's a strange li'l thing, ain't she?" Geoff pondered aloud as his gaze was locked on the stairs.

Mal sat heavily in his chair, huffing slightly. "That's our little witch," he muttered, just under his breath.

"As always, you have a way with words, sir," Zoe drawled dryly. Kaylee pouted, as if she'd been the brunt of those oppressive thought. It was Simon that stood next, looking a little lost as he adjusted his shirt cuffs.

"I'm going to check on River," he announced in a muted tone. He left the remainder of the crew and Cobbs at the table, rolling up his sleeves carefully as he mounted the stairs. He could hear River's familiar sniffling and burbling and low, comforting rumblings from Jayne. Steeling himself, Simon held his back straight and knocked on the door. Jayne's voice cut off quick.

"Simon," River confirmed in a washy voice. Jayne snorted lowly, but made no objection. Simon entered, feeling suddenly and inexplicably like an outsider, a trespasser, in his sister's life.

She was curled up in Jayne's lap as they sat on the edge of his bed, looking red and weepy. The big merc perched like a protective eagle, ready to strike if anyone came too close. But Simon he allowed. Her brother at first checked her vitals as Jayne set her beside him on the edge of the mattress. Simon then cautiously took his seat beside her. She almost smirked; sandwiched between her two favorite people was a good place to be at that moment.

"How do you feel?" Simon asked concernedly.

"Unwanted," she muttered truthfully. Jayne bristled, glaring hard at the door as if his ire would travel down the stairs and smack Mal straight between the eyes.

"_Hun dan_," he growled. He ground one fist into his flattened palm, staring heavy death at the door.

"I didn't mean--" Simon ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I mean, you know… baby-wise."

"Conception occurred at 2:12 this morning," she droned, looking at her knees draping over the edge of the bed. "Still an embryo; there's been no change." Despite her detached tone, she held her palm flat low on her stomach.

"I… don't know much about children, River," Simon admitted as he squeezed her free hand in his, "but I'll do what I can. You're my little sister."

"Huh," Jayne pondered, one edge of his lips twitching up. "Fine trio we make."

"Quartet," River corrected quietly. "Big dark cello, worrisome viola, with first and second violins. No accompaniment, must find their own notes."

"Sometimes you don't make no sense," Jayne rumbled, pulling her against his side.

"Whatever happens," Simon said as he stood, "I'm sticking with River. This might not be my favorite arrangement, and I still don't want to _think _about--" He shook his head, not even wanting to mention the act out loud.

Jayne cleared his throat, obviously knowing he had to say something, but not quite to the point where he would freely compliment his brother-in-law. "Means a lot, Doc," he said finally. He quickly added, "T' her, I mean," to remain as aloof as possible.

The three of them walked back down the stairs together, ready to face Mal with whatever they had in their defense. They were met at the foot of the stair by said captain, a semicircle of pissed-off females behind him. Book was smirking and looking mighty pleased with himself, and Wash was avoiding standing directly beside Ma Cobb, who looked like an overheated furnace as she stared at the back of Mal's head. Mal cleared his throat.

"Howdy," he said first. "We been doin' some… debatin'. Bein' dip-lo-matic, like the preacher said." One look at the women behind him convinced the trio otherwise. Mal had nothing to do with this. Jayne grinned scathingly.

Losing the mask, Mal sighed and stepped forward to anchor both hands on River's shoulders. Jayne tensed, ready to pounce, but Simon held him back with a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Li'l Albatross," Mal said, looking like some puppy that'd been kicked a few times too many, "I shouldn't 'a stepped all over your Happy River Time like that. S' just fine and dandy you're gonna have yourself a little one. And I think you'd be a damn good mother. And well--"

"Enough," River stopped him with a smile. "Captain Daddy cares, he's made his point." She managed to make him smile, which he quickly erased to retain the look of cool indifference.

"Anyway," he said after removing his hands from River's shoulders, "we been debatin' on this, and, way I came t' see it, there ain't gonna be a baby on my ship for 'nother nine months, if I got my maths right. Nine months is an awful long time, and, who knows… Maybe time'll make a mean old man like me change his mind."

River grinned instantly, and leapt forward to wrap her arms around Mal's neck. The breath was pounded from his lungs, and he looked mighty uncomfortable. She clung to him, beaming and squeezing the life from her captain. As she dropped back to her feet and moved back into Jayne's waiting arms, Mal thumped a fist against his chest to get his lungs working again. Book chuckled nearby.

"That was some mighty fine 'speech-i-fying' Captain," he said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, well, I try," he responded in a weary voice. He connected eyes with Jayne, who lowered his eyebrows defensively. Mal was going to have to use more than a few pretty words to convince Jayne. "Now, I think I got some cold oatmeal with my name on it." He excused himself to the table and began to eat once again.

River was passed around among the women, all of them mirroring smiles. Kaylee gave the girl a fierce bear hug. Inara kissed her once on each cheek and a warm embrace. Ma Cobb encircled the thin young woman in her arms and praised her. Even Zoe smiled and hugged the girl, tentatively.

It was Inara that approached Jayne after the crowd at the stair had dispersed. He smirked lowly and shrugged. She shook her head, smiling in her own small way. "I don't know why I kept that secret for you," she admitted, looking over to where River and Geoff were talking animatedly. "By all means I should've run to Mal and exposed everything. But she loved you from the very beginning, Jayne." He didn't look very surprised at this, which made her smile grow even further. "_Gong xi_," she told him as she, too, left him.

Mal could afford to stay planetside for another day at the most, then it was off to Persephone and Badger to scrape the barrel for the jobs no one else would take. Everyone agreed that another day on Aberdeen sounded just lovely. Ma Cobb was already up and starting lunch.

* * *

_gong xi_ - congratulations 

AN: Oh, how I love protective!Jayne... And our little trio... I like this chapter now that I've written it more than I liked it in preproduction. In my head it sounded like a filler chapter, but it turned out a lot better than I'd hoped it would. In my opinion, at least. And I toootally love Geoff. I don't normally like my original characters ('cept Samuel in _The Greater Good,_ heh) but Geoff is a lot of fun. I am thiiiiis close to just having him stow away on _Serenity_ or something... But naw. Well, I'll ask my beta, see what they think (mwahaha plotplot). Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you go. Thanks so much for reading, and much love!!


	3. Pisces

**Pisces**

* * *

_Pisces_ (The Fishes) : Keyword: "I believe". Imaginative, sensitive, distracted, feeling, duality, idealistic, spirituality, acceptance, undiscriminating, soul growth, martyrdom, artistic, neglectful, surrender, escapist, lazy, compassionate. _Ruling Planet_ : Neptune : Mysticism, transcendence, psychic impulses, feelings of sensitivity and empathy, care of the sick, the mentally ill, animals, charities, religious institutions, hospitals, prisons, retreat from society, artistic inspiration, spirituality, vulnerability to drugs. Ruler of the zodiac sign Pisces.

* * *

Kaylee wasn't used to pregnant women. She was the youngest child in her family, and once her friends from school got pregnant, they'd pulled out to stay at home. Her sisters had moved away before having their own children, and wrote back when the babies were born to invite her down and see the little thing. While she was fairly knowledgeable on the subject of _making_ children, she had thankfully little experience as to what happened _after_. 

Therefore, when River shoved past her outside the infirmary and dashed into the head to vomit up breakfast, something seemed very, very wrong to her.

"River!" Kaylee cried, taking after her and hovering outside the cracked door. She was torn between busting in and running to grab Simon. "River, you all right?"

River heaved once more, and groaned slightly. "Baby sick," she responded. When she didn't hear River move to stand again, Kaylee became edgy.

"Can I get ya anythin'? Should I get Simon?"

"Water," was River's singular request.

Kaylee dashed up to the galley to fetch the fresh water. When she returned, River had the door wide open and was sitting idly in the door frame. River took the cup wordlessly, swished a bit around in her mouth and spat into the sink. Taking long gulps of water, River sighed, then smiled up at Kaylee.

"Very normal," she assured the mechanic. "Morning sickness, nausea effecting pregnant women in the first few months of pregnancy. The deception is in the name; very sneaky, can occur at any time of the day."

"You want me t' stay with you in case you feel all queasy again?"

River nodded, looking pale. "Thank you."

Kaylee settled down onto the floor beside River, crossing her legs indian-style and putting on an encouraging face. "Where'd that lump of a husband 'a yours get off to, then? Ain't this his job?" She smirked playfully.

"Already on a job. With the captain and Zoe. Need the muscle, but he is very distracted."

"That's awful sweet," Kaylee said, beaming. "Wish I could say the same 'bout your brother, but that boy's just bulletproof." Kaylee let loose a soul-destroying sigh, and River felt the uselessness brimming from the woman. River smirked knowingly.

"Tinted windows," she muttered. "No one sees in even if he's not trying to hide it." She held her palm flat against her temple and screwed her eyes shut. Her skin was pale and her hand shook only slightly. Pressing her lips firmly together, she held back another niggling wave of nausea.

Kaylee fidgeted, looking a little nervous. Changing the subject, she asked, "So, how long's it been now? Four weeks?"

"Five weeks, three days, nine hours and approximately twenty-seven minutes. Not sure when to stop and start counting." She grimaced slightly, and leaned her head against Kaylee's shoulder. Kaylee whistled appreciatively, pressing her fingers against River's temples to relieve the pain.

"Hard t' think you got a little human growin' in ya. Mama always said the first one's hardest. Said when I was born, I just popped right on out and shot across the room like a watermelon seed." Kaylee even made the sound effect to that notion. River's lips twitched up at the image that formed in Kaylee's mind. Kaylee leaned in confidentially. "Y'know, I always kinda wondered about Jayne--"

"Not open for debate," River said quickly, blushing bright at the mere suggestion of sharing those intimate details. Kaylee backed off, apologizing and grinning. This brought on a long pause, at the end of which River sighed and muttered, "Jayne feels very orange today. Need him to make my green go away."

Kaylee comforted as well as she could, smoothing River's hair under her palm. The girl relaxed slightly, going limp against Kaylee. "You're just about one of the luckiest girls I know, River," she said lightly. "I mean, not countin' the people diggin' in your brain, that's not lucky at all. I mean t' say... You got what all us girls really want. Someone who loves ya, a little one cookin' in the oven, and the shiniest big brother anyone could ask for."

River made an odd sound, and bolted out of Kaylee's grip back into the head. The mechanic plugged her ears as River heaved into the bowl, coughing and groaning. She washed out her mouth again, flushed, and returned to Kaylee's side with a tired look.

"Must add morning sickness to list of unlucky things. Brain-cutting and morning sickness."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Kaylee hugged River gently to her side. "That no-good husband of yours better get his _pi gu_ in gear if he don't want my boot in it when he gets back." River finally chuckled.

"You'll make a good sister-in-law," River mumbled. Kaylee was stunned into a quiet reverie. The girl didn't get up again to heave her guts into the toilet, which was a plus, and the both of them eventually moved to the lounge in the galley. The both of them twittered playfully when Simon sauntered by, leaving him perplexed as he took down the stairs to the infirmary.

Mal and Zoe managed to bring River's husband back completely unharmed for once. He claimed he was beginning to look like one of those fancy holey cheeses, grinning knowingly at the dark-haired girl attached to his side. They'd just returned from Badger's, having given the odd little man his fair share of the last job. They'd been doing surprisingly well since Jayne had nearly gotten himself killed, and most--Kaylee and Wash, mainly--placed the good fortune on the baby. Mal, still mum on the subject of said baby, claimed that he was just getting better at planning. He'd never seen Zoe laugh so hard.

Mal had, however, noticed the subtle changes this child was already making in his battle-hardened merc. In fact, just as they'd returned from Badger's, the girl had run down the ramp to meet her man. He was just grinning and scooped her up in his arms to spin and kiss her all sweet-like in a way that made Zoe's eyes go unnaturally soft. The only time Mal was used to Jayne smiling at all was when he'd played a rather nasty joke on Simon or he was shooting at something. Then again, Mal couldn't honestly say he was angered by the transformation.

And, of course, the old Jayne was still in there, noted when he held River at his side and turned to the captain, saying, "So, when the hell are we gonna get some gorram food?" Mal rolled his eyes and walked past him in silence. He didn't have to turn around to know that Jayne had flipped him the indiscreet bird.

"I threw up today," River told him as she entwined her fingers in his, tugging him along beside her on their way to the galley. He cocked an eyebrow at her, not sure if he should be concerned or disgusted.

"Okay... Thanks for lettin' me know?"

"A sign that the pregnancy is progressing normally. The deceivingly-named morning sickness will continue through my first trimester--" She stopped suddenly, her feet on different stairs and perched like a long-legged heron. Jayne observed her questioningly.

"Hey, you all right?"

River held fingers to her temple, concentrating very hard and looking light-headed. "Wriggling, squiggling around inside. Not a consciousness yet, but growing and growing." She raised her hand to where Jayne could see it, curving it in the shape of a 'c'. "Like a pea pod; can't see or hear or feel, but _I _can feel it. Latched on like a little parasite. Half-Jayne, half-River parasite." She studied her hand intensely, as if she were scrutinizing the baby itself. Then, a wide, curling smile took her face. "Heart has started beating in a regular rhythm. Thump-thump--" She beat her hand gently against her own chest. Her smile widened. "Our baby's heart is beating, Jayne."

He remained silent, both of them halfway up the stairs and alone in the echoing cargo bay. This was all suddenly very real, he realized. After five whole weeks, Jayne was suddenly hit with the fact that he was going to be a father. They stared one another down for a long moment, and the longer it got, the more worried River became. She broke eye contact, fidgeting with her fingers and turning to walk the rest of the way up the stairs.

She was held back by a firm hand from behind wrapping around her waist and splayed across her stomach. He pulled her close until her back was flat against his chest. He remained silent, thinking it out, and squeezed her close.

"You know what it is yet?"

"Too early to tell," she responded. She smirked slightly. "You will be the second to know."

"How big is it?"

"Four millimeters long," she said after a pause. "Rounded up."

"Gorram," he muttered, close to her ear. "It's gonna get bigger, right?"

"Growing and growing," she said again. She turned her head slightly to look him in the eye. "Changed your mind on being a father?"

He knew he couldn't hide anything from those eyes of hers, but he shrugged anyway. "Naw," he told her at last. "I mean, I might as well 'a been Geoff's dad, seein' as ours weren't around when he was a kid. Think I know a thing or two 'bout 'em. Don't mean I know anything 'bout bein' someone's honest-t'-God father, though."

"Never been a mother, either," River said encouragingly.

He sighed slightly through his nose. "Sounds like you 'n me got a lot t' learn in eight months." She turned in his grip, chest to chest, and held her hand gentle against the side of his face.

"Teamwork. Two as one. Duality; the property of two theorems or expressions being dual to each other." She stood on her toes to catch him in a kiss. "Scratch each other's backs."

"You got it, _bao bei_," he muttered as he took her lips again, since she was already so close.

Mal had to come storming back down into the cargo bay after them ten minutes later, ranting loudly about a supper that no one seemed interested in eating. The two joined him, after they rooted around to find Jayne's misplaced shirt.

Kaylee was rather enthusiastic at dinner. Due to the prospect of a little Cobb running around the ship, the mechanic had gotten all sorts of ideas into her head about how things were going to be in eight months' time. Kaylee, of course, assumed the child would be a little girl, and she was going to be Auntie Kaylee. They'd sit long hours in the engine room, dream about fancy dresses, have tea in Inara's shuttle and have a generally good, girly time all around. Jayne didn't even wait until he'd swallowed his food before he butted in.

"You ain't got any 'magination, Kaylee," he grunted around his half-chewed food. River silently glared at him until he got the wad of protein bread down. "Tea parties 'n dresses... S'like you're readin' out of a book! 'Sides, who says it's gonna be a girl, anyway?"

Kaylee pouted. "Yeah, well, Mr. Imagination, if it's not tea 'n dresses, what's it gonna be?"

"Fer one," he said as he tipped back a long drink, "kid's gonna have a ruttin' genius and a trigger-happy merc as 'is parents. That's a mess 'a somethin' right off. Kid's gonna be able t' lick every one 'a us soon as he's kicked 'imself outta the womb."

Wash giggled to himself, the mental image of a little Jayne-River hybrid jujitsu-ing its way out being far too ridiculous to remain silent. Jayne paused to take another bite and swallow it down.

"Smart, too. I mean, I ain't helpin' much with the genes on that end--shut up, Mal--"

"Bet ya had t' stretch your mind real hard t' think 'a all those _imaginative_ things," Kaylee brooded, crossing her arms. Jayne glared, and he copied her stance.

"He'll be seven feet tall 'n marry the gorram Princess 'a Space. Then space monkeys'll fly outta my ass and--"

"All right," Zoe commanded through the surrounding laughter. "We'll talk about Jayne's ass later. I'd like t' finish eatin' while I still got the stomach."

Jayne and Kaylee gave up on their staring contest and finally joined in on the tittering. Simon cleared his throat nervously and asked if they really had to bring up the subject of Jayne's posterior at a later time. This caused Jayne and Mal to burst into raucous laughter--even the preacher joined in, snickering mostly to himself. Kaylee hugged dear Simon close, planting him with a fond kiss and patting his cheek, thankfully leaving him silent for the rest of the meal.

That night, curled up side by side in River's room, Jayne still broke into periodic fits of low laughter as he and River traded off the most ridiculous fables they could imagine up for their unborn child. Somewhere around seven arms, green skin and eyes the size of serving plates, Jayne finally fell asleep, still chuckling lowly to himself. River snuggled deep into him and opened her mind to the little parasite in her womb. It wasn't capable of thought yet--the brain was nowhere near developed--but she wanted it to know that its mother was listening. Only five weeks, and she was already becoming overly sentimental. It was something she had never considered herself, but something about Jayne, about this baby of theirs, was going to change her. She grinned warmly, kissed her husband just under his jaw, and burrowed against his warmth. Dreams of tea parties and space monkeys took her.

When she woke in the morning, she dashed to the head and heaved out last night's dinner. Ah, the wonders of motherhood.

* * *

AN: Okay, if any of these is a filler chapter, this is probably it. It seems short to me, but this is all I could get out of this idea. BUT I like it. I am kinda biased, though. OKAY, enough of that. Just want to give a shout-out to all you awesome people out there and how your reviews keep me going. I'm really enjoying writing this story (and all the Rayne-y stories I squeeze outta this brain of mine) and I'm glad y'all are sticking with me. Hope you enjoyed yourself here, because I have more planned for the next chapter. Bwaaahahaha... See you all next time, and thanks much for reading! 


	4. Scorpio

** Scorpio**

* * *

_Scorpio_ (The Scorpion) : Keyword: "I desire". Passionate, secretive, powerful, keenly perceptive, deep, complex, analytical, inquisitive, resourceful, evolutionary, magnetic, intense, hypnotic, perspicacious, creative, vigorous, untameable, cunning, ambitious, aggressive, tyrannical, sadistic, mysterious, transformation. _Ruling Planet_ : Pluto : Transformation and regeneration of person's life, beginnings and endings of phases of life, sex, death, issues of power and control, revealing hidden secrets, big business, police, detective and secret services, surgery, mining, extremes of wealth and poverty. Ruler of the zodiac sign Scorpio.

* * *

Only Mal, Zoe and Inara were in the galley when Jayne walked up from the passenger dorms. Inara almost gasped when she looked up. When she jumped, Mal's head shot up, followed quickly by Zoe's gaze. Jayne didn't even bother to glare back at them, which suddenly set Inara's emotional radar to concern.

The man was a zombie. He hadn't even gotten dressed--a long, black tee and boxer shorts was all. He paused in the doorway, rubbed a hand in his sleepy eye, and opened his mouth as if to say something. He blinked a few times, and to everyone's surprise, looked utterly defeated. He snapped his jaw shut again and moved silently to the kitchen. Mal and Inara exchanged an odd glance, the latter of which nodded obviously in Jayne's direction. Mal's eyes pleaded, but the companion remained firm. Growling a sigh, Mal stood from the table and moved back into the kitchen to join Jayne. He finally allowed himself an inch of concern when he observed Jayne simply staring at the empty bowl in front of him.

"Get any sleep last night?" Mal asked nonchalantly, pouring himself more bland, watery coffee as an excuse to speak. Jayne wordlessly shook his head. The captain cocked an eyebrow, shrugging back at Inara. She waved for him to continue. He turned back to Jayne, who hadn't moved. "You want some coffee? Tastes like raw _go se_ on a hot day, but I ain't complainin'."

Jayne rubbed his eyes again, and uttered a low groan. He leaned heavily on the counter and watched the opening that lead from the passenger dorms with a wary eye. Something dawned on the captain's face very slowly. Suddenly, inexplicably, Mal burst into bright laughter. Jayne jumped, and the two women at the table shared a worried look. Mal slapped his thigh in exuberance.

"Oh, Jayne, Jayne..." He wiped imaginary tears of laughter from his eyes and slapped Jayne hard on the back. The big man just took it. "You were the _girl_ weren't you?"

Deadly silence descended on the galley, interrupted only Mal's intermittent giggling. Jayne was staring rather heatedly at Mal by that point, trying to glare a hole straight through his head. His eye twitched once, and as he stalked past the captain, he muttered only three words, dangerously low:

"Shut up, Mal."

He was gone in a matter of seconds, leaving the three to stare wordlessly at one another. Mal continued to laugh with dangerous levels of mirth.

"Oh, come _on_!" He encouraged the women. "It's funny! Jayne was the _girl_!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," Zoe said with a single raised eyebrow. Mal waved her off.

"That's 'cause Wash is _always_ the girl."

The captain was silenced as the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Mrs. Cobb appeared in the doorway Jayne had entered from, on high alert. The smile fell off Mal's face at the look in the girl's eyes. That was a look that said, 'I am going to sex my husband blind and no one can do anything to stop me.' She nodded politely at the three of them gathered around the table, then took off with a prance in her step toward the crew corridor.

They listened in half-horror, half-fascination. She'd obviously met up with Jayne just outside the cockpit, for his cry of surprise echoed back to them in the galley. She said something in low tones that they couldn't hear, followed by her pretty laugh. A brief pause, then all they heard was Jayne groaning heavily and the lock to his bunk clicking sharply closed.

"Oh my God," Inara muttered, looking frightened. "Jayne _is_ the girl."

They had to be honest with each other. Recently--in the last week to be exact--River and Jayne had been acting steadily stranger. She was bold, which seemed to be dulling his edge. The two had never stopped changing, and there always seemed to be something new about them to puzzle the crew. This strange, slow transformation seemed to coincide with the little human growing inside of River, which, according to Simon's best medical assessments, was doing as well as any of them could hope. If Mal had to pick someone to be worried about, it was probably going to be Jayne. And that was all kinds of disturbing.

Wash was alone in the galley that afternoon, enjoying a bland protein snack, when Jayne shuffled quietly in and sat heavily across the table from the pilot. Wash jumped as Jayne carelessly, loudly plopped down in the chair. The man's hair was unkempt and he looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Wash curled his lip in fear.

"What happened to _you_?"

Jayne was quiet for a very long time, staring dully down at the table as if he hadn't even heard the other man. Wash furrowed his brow and leaned forward to wave his hand before Jayne's eyes.

"Hello, are you in there?"

Jayne snapped to attention, looking strangely frazzled. "Don't _do_ that!" He warned, soundly oddly hoarse. With a groan, the merc leaned heavily forward, cradling his face in his hands. Wash's confusion melted into concern.

"Hey, I'm not usually the one to ask, but are you feeling all right?"

Jayne glanced up, looking slightly flushed. He then removed his hands and furrowed his brow as he stared at the wood of the table. Looking back, Wash would often say he wished that he hadn't asked at all.

In a plain, gravelly voice, Jayne said, "I think she's tryin' to sex me t' death." Wash had no words; he could only let his jaw drop in shock. "Her big, 'laborate plan. Outright murder. Death by sexin'."

Wash finally found his voice, staring at Jayne with disgusted incredulity. "Is there a reason you think I need to hear this? Sadistic torture?"

Jayne ignored his question. "Was Zoe like this after you got hitched?"

The pilot grinned. "Well there was this one time--wait, NO! We are _not_ having this conversation!"

"Y'see," Jayne began again, staring down at the table with a growing smirk, "normally I don't care if she's wantin' her itches scratched--"

"_Not listening_!" Wash cried, throwing his hands over his ears.

"--what that girl can do with 'er mouth--"

"Oh my _God_! That's unnecessary!"

"--but these last couple 'a days she's just been... She's all..." He paused to find the right word, and a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. "She's like a sex ninja."

Wash's disgust slowly turned to disgusted curiosity. "Oh lord, I'm going to regret even asking but... Sex ninja?"

Jayne shook his head, looking spooked. "I'm just walkin', mindin' my business, when BAM!" Jayne smacked his fist into his palm for emphasis. "Sex! Outta nowhere!" His shoulders sagged, and he looked utterly defeated. "Leaves a fella downright... disoriented."

Wash's mouth moved, but there was no sound for a good fifteen seconds. "That... that is just too disturbing for words."

Just as Jayne moved to speak again, River's pretty voice lilted song-like into the galley from the crew corridor.

"Jaaayne!"

Jayne's eyes widened, staring straight at Wash with a confusing mix of emotions. He seemed to be fighting between instinctual urge and self-preservation, looking like some frightened puppy cornered by a much larger animal. Wash knew the situation was dire when that trapped look came into his eye.

At last, Jayne's voice whimpered out: "Hide me."

When River waltzed into the galley, Wash was alone again. The girl had taken to wearing Jayne's shirts, now that her rounded stomach was beginning to show. She claimed them to be far more comfortable, and the matter was not contested. This afternoon, she was wearing a light blue tee shirt with the image of a half-naked woman emblazoned on the front. Her hair was down and mussed just as Jayne's had been. She smiled bright as she made eye contact with Wash.

"Inquiry--looking for my _hui xiong_. Have you seen him?"

Wash paused, taking a drink. "Can't say I have."

"Deliberation--lies. You're hiding him from me."

"Oh yeah," Wash muttered. "Psychic."

"Conclusion--Jayne does not want to have sex with me."

The both of them heard the half-snort, half-cough from the storage locker, and River bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Jayne emerged, looking beaten and holding his hands up in surrender.

"S'what I get for tryin' t' hide from a reader." He sighed. "Y' got me, darlin', I give up."

River shook her head, smiling in the way she knew made him squirm. "Jayne _can_ say no," she told him in a low voice.

Wash laughed dryly from his position near the door. "See, I think the problem, River, is that he _can't_."

Husband and wife stared straight at one another, and it was, surprisingly, Jayne who spoke first. "Look, River... Ain't like I don't like the sexin'--"

"I'm leaving now!" Wash announced loudly, sticking fingers in his ears and humming loudly as he disappeared down to the cargo bay.

Jayne continued as if uninterrupted. "But... Hell, baby, you're gonna wear me out!" He paused, just in case she decided she wanted to say something. But her sly smile had fallen off, and she was watching him intently. Jayne sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as if it were in pain. "I don't know what got into ya, but it's been three days 'a ninja sex--" He stopped and allowed her time to finish giggling.

"Understandable," River said clearly, hands clutched neatly behind her back like an attentive schoolgirl. "During a woman's second trimester, it is likely that she will have an increase in sexual urges and activities. This doesn't mean it is reflected by her partner."

Jayne's tired eyes went wide, and he was suddenly on the defensive. "No, no, I like the sex! That bit's just fine, _trust_ me. S'just the... the... frequency." He leaned heavily against the door frame of the storage locker. "If ya let me shut my eyes for more'n two gorram minutes, I might--"

River held up a hand to cut him off. "Papa Bear needs his rest to keep up with his little wife." A cat-like smile curled on her lips, and it had the desired effect on him. He did, however, manage to bite his lower lip and stop himself from losing it... again.

"Now that ain't fair," he growled, all low and strained.

"My turn to make dinner," she told him flippantly, turning away and stretching her arms above her head purposefully. Jayne quickly looked away to the table, hoping that _it_ wouldn't be offering wild, exhausting sex. "Three hours until we sup. _Hui xiong_ should take his nap."

From far down the hall, they could hear Wash's voice being tossed back to them, warning some poor fool: "Don't go in the galley! They're talking about _sex_!!"

Simon, Book and Kaylee exchanged careful glances with each other when the silence descended on the dinner table. It seemed as though everyone else were in on something, and Kaylee was just dying to know what it was. Simon and River sat next to one another as usual, discussing the baby's development. Twenty weeks in, and everything seemed to be progressing normally. The only thing Simon seemed to be worried about was the strained look on Jayne's face. And the devilish one on River's.

Wash was pale and silent, shoveling his food in mechanically. Mal showed an almost sadistic grin as he watched the newlyweds, waiting for something hilarious to happen. Jayne was trying his damnedest not to look at the girl sitting beside him, who seemed to be shooting him all manner of interesting looks.

Book suddenly had to dodge a flying fork as Jayne threw it hard down on the table and it ricocheted at random. The merc stood violently, red in the face and looking nearly out of his mind.

"For fuck's sake!" He said, staring straight down at River. She was wearing a smug grin. Everything went simultaneously silent. Wash dropped his fork in shock, mouth still half-open. Jayne pointed a single finger in River's direction, gesticulating at random with his other. "You... All... Gorram..." Having lost the ability to form words, he simply grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to her feet. There was not another word of communication between the two of them. She simply nodded, and he dragged her off in the direction of the crew corridor. And they were gone.

Only another moment elapsed before Wash clapped his hands over his ears in fear and stood. "I have some very noisy work to do in the cargo bay. Right now." He was gone before anyone could ask his purpose. But they didn't have to wait long to realize his reason for evacuation. Soon, every other crew member found that they had some very noisy job to be doing in the lower decks that they hadn't had before sitting down to dinner. Mal growled curses to himself, planning to take his revenge on Jayne some time or another.

River was trying very hard to regulate her breathing as she lay atop of her man. He was equally as out of it, cursing in a low, heavy breath.

"What the hell?" was all he asked between the heaves of his chest. "What was _that_?"

"Animal magnetism," she murmured near his ear. "Cannot make you want things you're not already thinking about. _Very_ good at making you want it more."

"Shut up," he retorted, the best his mind could come up with at the time. She chuckled, the baby pressing against his stomach as she did. He took a long moment to regain some thought processes. "I didn't hurt nothin', did I?"

She pointed to her neck. "This will well up by the morning. Near the artery; must be more careful, or I may bleed to death."

He sat up slightly under her, looking awful guilty. "Damn." His head flopped back down into the pillow with a tired sigh. "Don't think I can keep this up for three more weeks, darlin'. You wear me down t' nothin'."

"Apologies," she sighed pleasantly, laying her head softly against his chest. She allowed a long pause, then turned her eyes to the dark ceiling of his bunk. "I think it's a girl," she murmured absently. Jayne shifted again, so he could look at her in the dark.

"Think so? What makes ya so keen on it? She got a little bow in 'er hair?" He smirked with what energy he had left.

"No hair yet," she corrected him. "Just feels like a girl. Still very small, but moving. Squirming, the worm to my apple. Always cut them open, make sure there's no grenades inside. Are they going to cut me open, Jayne?"

He nearly shot up, worried and surprised by the question. "What? No! Why d'you think--we shot-up them blue hands, ain't no way--"

"For the baby," she clarified. Jayne relaxed slightly under her.

"Oh. Right." A pause in the darkness, and she could feel his big rough hand caressing the small of her back in little, repeated circles. "Don't think so. Doc says everything's goin' smooth, which prob'ly means no cuttin'." He kissed her forehead once and settled back into the bedclothes. She snuggled close against him, sharing his warmth.

She closed her eyes to the darkness, mumbling, "It never goes smooth."

"Huh?" Jayne muttered listlessly, already half-asleep.

"Baby bear is restless," she assured him. "Wants to meet you."

She could feel him smiling even without seeing it. "I think I got a smart name picked out if it's a girl like you say it is."

River nodded. "I like it. Simple, yet feminine." She ran her fingers over her swelling belly, over which Jayne laced his own. "What do you think, Molly Cobb?"

* * *

AN: Okay, apologies for making this so gorram late. I blame the internets. Or, rather, the lack of them. I'll work extra hard to get the next chapter up quicker. Don't worry, I don't plan on abandoning this story any time soon. At all, I mean. Anyway, the story. I was running over some girl names in my head, and Molly just sounded like a great name. Better than my original, which was going to be Dawn. Just doesn't sound right. If it was a boy, River was gonna want to name it Miles. Poor kid. Can't be as bad growing up as the Boy The Call Jayne though. And dude... 'sex ninja' came to me in a dream. I kid not. I had to wake up and write it down. Poor, poor Wash and his violated ears. Hope you like, and thanks for sticking with me! Much love and much thanks!! 


	5. Sagittarius

**Sagittarius**

* * *

_Sagittarius_ (The Archer) : Keyword: "I perceive". Free, straightforward, careless, tactless, philosophic, intellectual, fun-loving, arrogant, adventurous, expansive, optimistic, blundering, believer, scattered. _Ruling Planet_ : Jupiter : Personal growth and expansion, aspirations, desire for freedom, sense of justice and morality, religion, philosophy, higher education, the law, long distance communication, enterprise, risk taking and gambling. Ruler of the zodiac sign Sagittarius.

* * *

"Nope. I don't like it." 

"For once, we agree on something, Captain."

"Don't make a habit of it, Doctor. Bein' adorably aloof is kinda my shtick."

"Trust me," Inara butted in, crossing her arms, "it's anything but adorable."

"But you agree with us, right, 'Nara?"

She sighed, and shrugged at the married couple across the table, as if issuing an apology. "As completely not-adorable as he is, he's right. It's a little late in River's pregnancy to be going out on the town. Especially on Beaumonde."

Jayne frowned. This wasn't going the way he'd wanted. The plan was to pack all their overnight things, nonchalantly mention that they were going out for a bit while _Serenity_ was stuck planetside in customs and not have to worry about being nagged by Aunt Mal. They never called him that to his face, but it was amusing nonetheless. The plan had been interrupted when the captain decided to call in the troops to stop the precious cargo from leaving the ship. And with the doctor and companion behind him, he was fighting an argument he planned on winning.

"Hell, Mal," Jayne growled, trying not to bite someone's head off, "you couldn't wait t' get my DNA off your ship couple'a months ago, and now you got us on _lockdown_?"

"Yeah... Well..." Mal fought with his laconic brain for a witty comeback, crossing his arms nervously. "I'm Captain."

"Sound like a ruttin' _kid_," Jayne responded. River seemed to be ignoring the lot of them, running her hand on her bulging stomach and muttering soundlessly to herself. "Look, when this thing pops outta my wife, me 'n her are gonna be on patrol twenty four-seven."

"Watermelon seed," River mumbled, looking terribly amused suddenly. She made a 'ptoo!' noise, making an arc in the air with one finger. Jayne raised a singular eyebrow in her direction, then returned his attention to Mal.

"Ain't like I'm gonna let anythin' happen to 'em. I ain't reckless."

Simon tried to turn his scoffing laugh into a cough, and cleared his throat loudly. Jayne sneered back half-heartedly, mostly because he needed Simon's support for this little outing.

"S'like... A last stand before parenthood, y'know?" He looked fondly down at River's protruding abdomen. "'Sides, not like she can do much 'a anythin' with her stomach stickin' out like a gorram tumor."

"She doesn't like it when you call her a tumor," River said matter-of-factly.

"She don't even know what a tumor is!"

"Very smart, like her mother."

"Yeah, prob'ly a stubborn little thing, just like her ma."

"What exactly would this 'last stand' entail?" Simon interrupted, knowing that something like this could go on forever if left unchecked. Mal jumped slightly at the turn in conversation.

"Now wait a sec! You're on _my_ side!" Mal protested. Inara elbowed him, to which he mouthed 'ow!' and rubbed his arm in mock-pain.

"Somethin' nice t' eat," Jayne input almost immediately. "There's this real nice casino--"

"No casinos," Simon said quickly. "Too many people. Someone might recognize River."

"Not with the protrudin' growth she's got..."

"We will be careful with your niece, Simon," River interjected before her husband could go off on another tangent about how large she'd become. "Jayne may be a bit of a lummox--"

"Hey! I know what that means!"

"--but he knows how to take care of us. I will be careful, and not let him spend all of his money. We could all use a bit of a last hurrah. Zoe and Wash plan on having a nice meal, as well."

"What?" Mal looked perturbed. "No one told me--"

"Because you'll always say no, Captain Daddy," she said as she grinned. "Time to let your bird fly, or she'll never know what her wings feel like."

Mal frowned, and that line formed between his eyebrows--the one that told of deep thought. Inara often liked to imagine a tired old hamster running for its life in a little wheel in there, turning dusty cogs. Somehow, crazy River-logic seemed to be taking its toll on the captain's resolve. He'd never admit it to anyone--which was a lie; Inara had known longer than he had--but he could never keep to his argument when she gave him those big brown puppy eyes. He had to admit he could feel Jayne's pain at that moment, having to look forward to those for the rest of his life. Mal _hated_ the puppy eyes.

"All right, Jayne, prove me wrong," Mal said quickly, as if it tasted bad on his tongue. Somehow, this had all turned into Jayne's fault, but he had come to accept that from the beginning of the argument. In fact, the way he figured, he'd come to accept that when he married the girl. "And put those eyes away, Li'l Albatross, 'fore you hurt someone."

River bobbed happily, grabbing Jayne by the hand and pulling him as quickly out of the galley as a pregnant girl could, before the Captain could change his mind. Mal grumbled something incoherent. Simon looked like he might be sick at a moment's notice. Inara threw up her hands. The one time she found an occasion to agree with the Captain, and he gets manipulated by the puppy eyes. Feminine wiles be damned; no one could deny the puppy eyes.

The lights were flashing on the docks, and River was quick to hide her eyes the moment they stepped out of the ship. Wash raised his eyebrows as he and he wife emerged along side River and Jayne.

"Hey, you sure you're all right to go out? I mean, Jayne could always bring you some take-out. I heard the take-out on Beaumonde is to die for." He paused in thought. "Or that someone died from it."

"I'm fine," River announced, at the combined stared of the men. "No need for take-out." She turned her head to look up at her husband, squinting in the harsh strobe of the surrounding lights. "Where shall we dine?" A far-off look came to her eye, and she looked about in awe. "Oh me, what fray was here? But tell me not, for I have heard it all."

"River," Jayne began.

"It has much to do with hate, but more with love," she confirmed, looking softly at something that wasn't there.

"It'll be more 'a the first than the other if we don't get movin', _dong ma_?"

"Busy work," she returned with a knowing grin.

"Yeah, we're all a bunch a ruttin' busy bees," Jayne rumbled in reply. He threw his arm around her waist, pulled her tight up against his side, and they were off.

Wash and Zoe parted company with them when they reached a less-than-fancy restaurant that the pilot could afford treating his wife to. Jayne claimed to have a bit more cash on him, and he and River walked on through the crowded, noisy streets of Beaumonde. She rather liked the persona he took on when they were in close quarters with any unscrupulous characters--his proverbial ears lay flat against his head, and he glared hot death at anyone who walked too close. He pinned the girl to his side, staking his claim and daring anyone to get within knife range. She simply loved it when he got all protective, and all she could do was grin.

She waddled, heavy with baby, by his side until the jostling crowds of the docks thinned, and they strode toward a nearby hovering cab. Jayne held up one hand, and the 'on-duty' light flashed on atop the vehicle's roof. It pulled up alongside the couple, and a young-looking, eager male face poked itself out the driver's window.

"Where y' goin', lady and gent? I can get ya there quick 'n cheap. Better'n those lousy, no-good rickshaws, that's for gorram sure."

"Got that right," Jayne said as he opened the door absently for his wife, who climbed in, beaming. He climbed in on the other side, settling in easily. "That thing'd shoot right on outta you, we rented a rickshaw." He poked the driver in the back of the head. "Yoruba District, quick-like. I got a powerful hunger, and I need me some gorram meat."

"Big carnivorous Papa Bear," River added with a smirk. Her husband tried not to mirror it, for propriety's sake.

"Yoruba District, got it," the young driver said, and kicked the vehicle into gear. It lurched once, then was off into traffic. River hastily buckled herself in. Jayne didn't bother, his attention out the window at the blurring neon lights.

"Got an idea where you're headed, then?" the driver asked. "I hear Donovan's over on Seventh just got in a fresh order 'a steak. _Cow_ steak, my friend."

"I don't got that kinda money," Jayne growled embarrassedly. River fidgeted quietly, thinking on all the money that her brother had given up, and all the cow steaks he could have bought. "Just somewhere nice."

"Donovan's it is then," the young man replied. "That steak's purty expensive, but they got a real nice menu."

"Yeah, well, your jaw waggin' ain't gettin' us there any faster, is it?" Jayne winked in River's direction, and she snickered. He could be so scathing if he wanted to be.

"Right," the boy replied, shutting his mouth and dodging the stagnant Beaumonde traffic. River punched Jayne's shoulder playfully, and he snorted a short laugh.

The drive to Donovan's was quick, as the boy had promised, and relatively cheap for a Beaumonde cab. Jayne paid, and as they walked toward the revolving front door, he offered his arm to the girl beside him. River bobbed daintily, linked her elbow with his, and waddled beside him into the doors.

It'd been tough, but they'd eventually found Jayne a tie. They were concerned for a while that no one on board had a proper tie, but thankfully, Simon happened to have one that would match with the shoes Jayne had chosen to wear. It wasn't the fanciest he'd ever been--that being the wedding his mother had set up for him--but he figured that the blazer over one of his nicer shirts would be enough. River… Well, River always looked resplendent. He grinned to himself, proud of his expanding vocabulary.

Of course, he used a false name to get a table. They used a good old fallback; Mr. and Mrs. Jamison, out for a night on the town before responsibility fell like a sack of gold bricks. The maître d' commented politely on River's natural glow, looking at Jayne like he was some lecherous old hump. Jayne bared his teeth, somewhat resembling a protective guard dog, and the man backed off slightly. River, naturally, did all of the talking.

"A table for two," she recited, as if having memorized a flash card. "Romantic final outing. My headstrong bear plans to treat me."

"Of course, madame," the man with slicked hair said stiffly. He nodded politely at the two of them, as if giving a half-bow. "Let me see what we have available."

"Yeah," Jayne sneered as the man was out of view, "he's a real upstandin' kinda guy, ain't he? You see that pole shoved up his ass? Thing must 'a been this gorram long--" He held his hands far apart, gauging the distance carefully. River formed her lips into a white line, hiding her amusement. "Aw, c'mon, girl, that was _funny_."

"Must act the part of Mrs. Ruth Jamison."

"What, we got first names now? What's my first name, huh?"

"Miles."

"Nuh-uh. No ruttin' way. I look like a 'Miles' t' you?"

She stifled another grin. "No."

"How 'bout somethin' manly... Like Dirk, or Steel or somethin'."

She finally laughed, holding her stomach carefully. "Very glad the baby is not a boy." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Awright... But I ain't gonna be _Miles_." He crossed his arms, his only act of defiance.

"Neil," she said after a pause of thought, just as the maître d' arrived before them again. Jayne smirked approvingly, then turned on his heel to face the shorter man before him.

"It seems we have a table for two available." The word 'unfortunately' seemed to be tagged silently to the end of his sentence. Jayne received an elbow in the side for rolling his eyes. Despite the animosity between the two men who had never met before, Jayne followed dutifully to the table for two. It was tucked in a corner, not as near a window as he would have liked, but it did have a candle in the middle of the centerpiece. The maître d' made to pull out River's chair for her, but Jayne nudged himself in first to yank the chair out from under the table. She was unused to seeing her man act in any way polite to another human being, but the act neither frightened nor surprised her. She carefully lowered herself down, holding her stomach with one hand and digging rather painfully into Jayne's with the other.

Once they'd settled, another man--thankfully--came to take their drink orders. River staunchly forbade Jayne from partaking in alcohol in case of an emergency. The last thing she needed was a husband with a buzz in case the worst happened. He nodded with a growling, conceding sigh. He flipped through the menu idly, back and forth between the various meats. The cab driver had been right--this was fine steak, and far too expensive on a merc's budget. Most of this he couldn't even bother pronouncing, let alone figure what it took to make it. Every thought that passed through his head about the questionable dishes, River answered without even looking up from her menu. The thought made him smile in that crooked "that's my girl" way.

Across the table, she gripped his hand. Glancing around for any onlookers, he returned the sentiment.

How the next series of events unfolded, no one was quite sure. Not even the psychic.

Jayne recognized the click of the hammer on a nearby hidden revolver. He tensed, his merc sense on full alert. He breathed in once, breathed out. Catching the eye of his wife, he communicated more with his eyes than his mind. She looked down at her stomach in a flash, where a pinched, worried look came to her face, then nodded infinitesimally. Jayne nodded in return, breathed in once more, and in the same movement whirled up out of his chair, pulled his LeMat out of its holster and pointed it board-straight at the man who had seemingly appeared right behind his chair.

Silence was sudden, and somewhere in the restaurant a fork clattered onto a plate with a resounding ring. Jayne had the upper hand, cocking his gun in an effortless movement and keeping it trained right at the mystery man.

"They want 'er so much," Jayne started in a low voice, "why they send a no-good grunt like you t' get her? I could smell you a mile away, greenhorn."

The man before him deflated slightly, and he held up both hands. His gun was in one hand, still cocked. He looked younger than Jayne, with shortly-cropped blond hair. He was wearing a long, black trench coat. Far off, Jayne could hear excited voices as they called in the police. Jayne grimaced. Alliance was the last thing he wanted right now.

"Put it down, and maybe I don't get your little brains all over these nice folks' steak," Jayne growled. "And answer the question. I ain't gonna ask again."

"River Tam _will_ be recovered," the younger man assured as he uncocked the gun, dropped it, and kicked it to Jayne's feet. "It's a matter of extreme importance."

"That's River _Cobb_," Jayne corrected with a sneer. "Enough t' take 'er in front 'a all these people?" Jayne asked, nodding at the elderly couple a table away from them.

Strangely, the man smirked. "Memories are subjective, Mr. Cobb. Merely a speed bump, if you will, not an obstacle."

"Jayne," came River's urgent voice. "The guns are coming. A forest of them."

"Right." He acknowledged, daring a glance over his shoulder.

He shouldn't have risked as much, as the young agent whipped a small knife from the sheath strapped to his chest and plunged it straight into Jayne's shoulder. River screamed, and the panic began.

Tables and chairs, cutlery and steaks went flying simultaneously. A flurry of dresses and ties, and thundering footsteps all raced to the exits. Growling loudly in pain, Jayne largely ignored the knife sticking out of his shoulder and rammed his elbow hard into the man's face. He fell over, blood streaming from his broken nose. Without a word, Jayne knocked his own table over, and River dived under the cover at his wordless suggestion. Despite being a government-trained living weapon, she was in no shape to act as such with the baby due in less than two weeks.

The young agent had found his gun, rolled to a spot behind a second upturned table, and popped off two shots in Jayne's direction. One plucked at the wood of the table that hid River, and another smashed a nearby wall lamp. Jayne didn't need any more incentive, and he fired three shots into the other table. Three bullet holes appeared perfect one beside the other, but the agent made no noise to suggest whether he was hit or not.

Familiar sirens rent the air outside, and Jayne let loose every curse in Mandarin and English that he could remember at that point. River was shouting something, but it was veiled by the screaming of the other restaurant patrons still trying to escape and the pain from the knife shoved to its hilt in his shoulder. A blond head appeared from behind the table, and Jayne fired once.

He was hit in the neck, and he toppled backwards without a sound. Jayne moved over swiftly, kicked the man to be sure he was dead, and took a long moment to finally react to the pain of the knife. He tore it out of his shoulder in one smooth jerk, but refrained from throwing it to the ground. The last thing he needed now was his DNA at a murder scene.

The floor was completely empty, everyone having retreated to the street to wait for the police. Sirens screamed, filling the air, and flashing lights had arrived just outside. Another sound filled his ears, and it made his heart stop cold in his chest. River groaned in pain from behind their table.

Jayne dashed to her side, and from the blood, he thought with terror that she'd been shot. But she wasn't bleeding from any conventional gunshot wound. A more dreadful thought entered his head as the police vehicles pulled up outside the restaurant, and his face went simultaneously as pale as River's. She was holding her swollen stomach, gritting her teeth and looking as if she was trying not to cry.

"She's here," River gasped. "The dams broke, and the flood rushes forward."

Soundless, he stared, something caught in his throat as he realized that his wife's water had just broken, and violently. He gripped at his shoulder wound, trying to stop the dripping blood as the Alliance surrounded the building.

"Oh, _go se_."

"_Go se_," she confirmed.

* * *

AN: Okay, so a bunch of apologies, before I get started. I BLAME THE INTERNETS. And lack of them, mostly. Where I'm living right now doesn't have those glorious series of tubes, and sneaking off somewhere that does isn't a likely occurrence. SO, I apologize for the obscene lateness of this chapter. I also apologize for the cliffhanger. It just needs to be a cliffhanger. Sorry. ANYWAY, I'm sorry for abusing caps here, and sorry again for lateness. The next should be done quickly, but as to when I get it up, unknown. Thanks for sticking with me despite the problems. You guys are awesome!! Much love and much thanks, and keep reading! 


	6. Cancer

* * *

_Cancer_ (The Crab) : Keyword: "I feel". Protective, sensitive, clinging, tenacious, family and home oriented, helpful, nurturing, moody, watery, emotional, crabby, loving. _Ruling Planet_ : Moon: Inner feeling, moods, habits, the unconscious, nurturing and parenthood (especially motherhood), home and family life in general, instinctive reactions to life, need for emotional security and safety. Ruler of the zodiac sign Cancer.

* * *

It was to go down in the annals of Cobb history, or so Jayne liked to claim. The Great Escape, as he often called it, was to be told many times after, the precursor to the story of the birth of Molly Cobb. And most supposed that since it was the first time Jayne had come up with a completely legitimate plan all on his own, he was allowed to gloat slightly. But, Mal warned upon multiple iterations, he shouldn't get too excited about a one-time thing. Zoe would often chime in with a "how have your plans been coming recently, sir?" and Mal would break off, grumbling about something.

As far as anyone but the Cobbs could tell, there was one definitive story line on which Jayne tended to elaborate in storytelling, which was as follows.

The feds had the restaurant surrounded. Whoever had made that phone call must have made the situation sound pretty urgent. Jayne cursed the caller in as many tongues as he'd cared to learn. River was panting urgent breaths, gripping his hand fiercely. The blond agent was dead merely two feet away, and the bloody knife was still clutched in Jayne's hand. His shoulder wound seemed to be flowing quite freely, and the more blood seeped from his shoulder, the more the restaurant seemed to wobble around them.

"This ain't good, honey," he murmured, racking his brain for possible escape routes. River whimpered in reply, counting out loud to herself.

"Seventeen-one-thousand, eighteen-one-thousand--counting contractions, last one three minutes ago and counting."

"We gotta get outta here," he answered himself.

The quickness with which the plan formulated still holds a record in the Cobb family. He didn't speak a word to his wife; she knew well enough what he was thinking. A better time to have a reader for a spouse there was not. He moved fast, stripping off his blazer and tie and reaching for the trench coat of the dead agent. The newbie'd had his sunglasses in the pocket of his coat, and Jayne threw those on his own face for effect. He wouldn't need to flash his ID, just the badge. Badge, badge, where was the badge?

"Twenty-five-one-thousand--left back pocket, _hui xiong_--twenty-six-one-thousand..."

Jayne unceremoniously wrenched the badge from the dead man's pocket, stuck it in his own, and slipped his own blazer over the shoulders of the blond man. For good measure, he also managed to steal the man's gun and shoulder holster, and he was just fastening it across his chest when the feds burst in.

"Police!" The shouted from the foyer, and husband and wife heard a forest of guns cocking and priming.

"Situation under control!" Jayne announced in an authoritative tone. River nodded approvingly, holding her abdomen in pain and counting under her breath. "Got my badge, and my hands're in the air!" True to his word, Jayne held up his stolen badge as he raised both hands.

The well-outfitted police force streamed into the dining room, the front line bedecked in riot gear. Jayne rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses, but remained absolutely still. Upon glimpsing the badge, the riot squad lowered their weapons, and the apparent head of operations stepped forward toward Jayne.

"Report?"

"Hostage situation," Jayne said quickly, looking at River over his shoulder. "This here's my business and not yours, officer. I been assigned t' keep an eye on this little lady, and that's all I'm authorized t' tell ya."

The man facing him said nothing at first, his lip giving a twitch. But, apparently, this badge meant no arguing, which was what Jayne had been banking his plan on. The Alliance wanted River badly, and anyone after her had to be pretty high-up indeed. How this son-of-a-whore managed to slip through was anyone's guess. Jayne caught himself before he could smirk self-righteously.

"All right," the officer said at last. "I don't ask what the Alliance does in its free time. Was anyone injured in the fire fight?"

"Don't think so," Jayne replied, keeping a nervous eye on his wife. "That little _hun dan_ stuck me real good, but I'll live." He paused only infinitesimally before adding. "The girl's 'bout t' have a baby. I'm gonna need a hospital, and damn quick."

"Contraction," she announced as if in response. "Time elapsed, just over six minutes." She breathed as steadily as possible, then began again in a tiny voice: "One-one-thousand, two-one-thousand..."

"We can take you in one of the squad cars," the officer said, as if waving it off. "We'll need to get the crime scene taped off and--"

"Look," Jayne stepped forward, entering the officer's personal bubble, eyebrows lowered dangerously. "When I said damn quick, I didn't mean 'at yer leave' quick. I meant 'get me to the gorram hospital or I'm writin' you a suggestion of dismissal' damn quick. We on the same level now?"

Jayne seemed to be banking on the badge being of a significantly higher rank than the officer before him, and after the five seconds of hard thinking the officer seemed to do, it was obvious that Jayne's assumption was correct. The man before him shifted his weight to his other foot, looked rather uncomfortable for all of twenty-seven seconds, then returned his attention to Jayne with new calm.

"I understand," he assured Jayne. "My deputy Gardner will take you in his squad car as soon as you can get the lady to the front of the restaurant. _Gardner_!" The young man was at his side almost instantaneously. "Get these two to Sisters of Mercy downtown, and quickly." In an almost confidential tone, he added: "One more spot, and my record will be as black as your shoes, Gardner. I don't need another screw-up."

"Right, sir," Gardner said quickly. He motioned to Jayne.

Finally, things seemed to be going his way. Jayne knelt on the ground beside River, who was practicing steady breaths that made him lightheaded just watching. "We're goin', Mama Bear, just hold on tight," he whispered so Gardner couldn't hear. She obediently threaded her arms around his neck, and he slipped his arms around her to pick her up as gentle as could be. He threw a nasty glance at the dead man on the floor before following Gardner out into the street.

Cold had descended, and River shivered in his arms, groaning as the baby moved urgently in her womb. Jayne flashed her a concerned glance, something she saw even past the smoky sunglasses he'd stolen. Lights flashed, bouncing off the cold glass of the surrounding buildings. Junior officers milled about, one of them smoking and cursing loud enough to be heard a block down. Everything seemed so distant from the three of them; father, mother and unborn child.

"You should sit with her in the back," Gardner suggested, looking worried and slightly sickened at the sight of a highly pregnant woman about to give birth. "In case it... you know... pops out."

"Watermelon seed," River mumbled heavily in Jayne's shirt, her knuckles white as they gripped one another behind his head.

"S'alright, _bao bei_, that ain't happenin'," Jayne assured her, muttering calmingly into her hair. "Open the door, Gardner, I got a handful 'a pregnant girl here!" The deputy was quick to unlatch the rear door of the squad car. "And leave the glass down, case I gotta talk at ya."

"Right, sir," Gardner belted out, unflinching in his ability to serve.

River gave a sharp cry as Jayne set her down in the back seat, and she clenched hard at his hand. "Contraction!" she cried, digging her fingernails into the flesh of her husband's hand. "Elapsed time, six minutes, fifty-one seconds. Hurry, Papa Bear..."

"I'm hurryin', babe, just fast as Gardner here can gun it. You hear that, Gardner?"

"Sir?"

"I said _gun it_, ya moron!"

And, demonstrated by the forcefulness of Jayne's final statement, Gardner threw on the sirens and nearly peeled out onto the street. Jayne held onto his girl tight as he dared, and she dug painful half-circles into his arms.

"Fifteen minute ride to Sisters of Mercy," Gardner announced, watching traffic. Seeing their pale faces, he attempted small-talk. "Your, uh... first time in a cop car?"

"You kiddin'? I seen more 'n better than this hunk 'a _luh suh_ you call a vee-hicle," Jayne chided, feeling rather skittish and on edge at the moment. "Can't ya get a move on, Gardner?"

Gardner wasn't listening. Someone was talking over the radio, and Jayne didn't like the sound in his voice. It was that head officer back at the restaurant. They'd been clever enough to check the dead fellow's pockets, and upon finding his government ident card and scanning it, it became evident that Jayne was not who he claimed he was. Gardner's eyes were mostly white as he listened to the description of Jayne and River, along with where they were known to be headed. The young deputy expected the click of a hammer behind his head.

"All right," Jayne grumbled, poking the stolen gun's barrel against the back of Gardner's head. "Forget the hospital, boy. Turn them gorram sirens off and head off all quiet-like t' the docks."

"I-I can't do that," Gardner said in an unsure voice, his white knuckles standing out on the steering mechanism.

"Maybe I ain't made myself clear here, Mr. Gardner." Jayne was about to lose his patience, and River knew what tended to ensue when Jayne lost his patience. "This pretty young thing back here, this here's my _wife_, and she's got my little girl 'bout t' come into the world. They both ain't on my ship in five minutes, I'm decoratin' your interior with your _gorram grey matter_! That's your _brain_, Gardner, and if you ain't usin' it yet, you better get started! Now turn off the sirens!"

In an instant, the sirens were off. Gardner was shaking and white in the front seat.

"You pass out and I'm shootin' ya anyway, boy," Jayne growled. "Now shut the hell up and drive." In case he'd forgotten, Jayne reminded Gardner there was a gun pointed at his head. Peeking over the top of the sunglasses, Jayne glimpsed River, who was taking trained gulps of air. "You all right, darlin'?"

"Four minutes left, Mr. Gardner!" River said through gritted teeth in response. The man drove on in frightened silence. People crowded the streets as they neared the docks, the market spilling over into the way of traffic.

Jayne ordered the man to stop short of turning the corner, before the transport ships were in view. The last thing he needed was for this kid to ID _Serenity_ and have even more feds after them than usual. He ordered Gardner to give him his gun, which was one of those useless standard-issue Alliance non-lethal weapon, and Jayne sneered at it before discarding it in the back seat. He also shot out Gardner's communications before stealing the keys from the ignition and knocking the man out with the butt of his own gun.

Jayne flashed a grin at River for his genius, but as she clung to him in pain, she couldn't even pretend to smile back. Jayne tossed the keys to some passerby, who sped off into the crowd. He held her close, dodging the heaving crowd that centered around the docks. Someone was trying to sell him insurance on a ship he may or may not have owned, and another, smaller man was coaxing him into riding on _his_ ship with little fee involved. Had he not had his pregnant wife in his arms, Jayne would have sucker-punched both of them, along with a few other people that were annoying him at the moment. But then, he didn't really need anyone calling the police. Not when he was so close...

There was _Serenity_, just sitting pretty there where he'd left her. He hoped to God that Wash and Zoe were already back, because there wasn't any time to be waiting around.

"Full house," River gasped through the pain. "Four Kings and three Queens. Just waiting for their two Jokers."

"Enough with the funny," he advised her, looking about with ears perked up for anyone that might be following them. "You just focus on you 'n the cub right now."

"Thoughtful Papa Bear," she noted, burrowing her face in his chest. She tensed and took in a staccato breath. "Hurry, Jayne!"

He ran the last few yards to the lowered ramp of _Serenity_. The lights from inside were warm and familiar, but he didn't allow himself to relax one bit. Jayne took one arm from around his girl to punch the button to activate the hydraulics of the ramp, and it went up with a hiss and pulled the airlock closed. At last, River couldn't help herself any longer, and, digging her fingers painfully into Jayne's neck, wailed out loud from the pain. It echoed eerily in the metal ship.

All the blood drained from his face, and for a moment, Jayne didn't know what to do. He regained motor function quickly, and he pushed the comm near the airlock with a shaking hand.

"Anyone up there?!" Jayne asked frantically into static. "C'mon! Someone pick up the gorram comm!!"

A terrible silence followed, then a response clicked over the speaker. "Jayne, what the hell are you doin' to my ship?"

"Mal, I don't got time t' argue with you right now," Jayne growled. Kaylee had entered the cargo bay at River's cry, and the mechanic gasped at the sight these two presented. "We need t' get out, and fast."

"Ain't we had a talk 'bout givin' orders on my--"

Jayne cut in unapologetically, the cords on his neck standing out in frantic frustration. "They're after us, Mal! Alliance! They want 'er bad, and now they know she's got a little one. Your Li'l Albatross is fit t' bust right here in my arms, Cap'n, and we don't get flyin', we're like t' get swamped by every Fed here on Beaumonde! I know this ain't my ship, but I'm sayin' right now, we got t' get the hell _out_!!"

He heaved hot, worried breaths waiting until the comm static had ended. Kaylee had arrived at their sides, looking white and afraid at the sight of the pale, pained River in his arms. Jayne gave a low whisper that sounded like, "need the Doc" and turned back to the comm. Kaylee nodded and dashed off like a rabbit for the passenger dorms.

"All right," Mal said at last, his voice having changed since Jayne's outburst. "Wash can have us up and out in ten, seven if Kaylee can heat up our bird real quick. You get that girl t' the doc. And Jayne?" He paused, in case the merc had walked away, giving him time to come back to the comm. "We're havin' us a nice, long talk after, understand?"

"Got it, Cap'n." He strode away from the comm, his heart pounding. As he came thudding down the stairs, he saw Simon dash from his room with Kaylee following, both colorless. Kaylee's hands were shaking as she held them to her mouth. She looked on for precious few seconds before dashing away to the engine room.

"Is she all right?" Simon asked as they converged at the door to the infirmary. They both squeezed through the doors, and Jayne lay River gingerly down on the exam table. He saw now that her face was wet with tears. Her eyes were squeezed closed, and his mind completely blanked out. He suddenly felt like someone had taken a hammer and chisel and broke away a huge chunk of his insides. He only came to when Simon shouted his name.

"What?" Jayne asked, looking up at the doctor suddenly. Simon was taken aback at Jayne's expression. The man was suddenly ashen, his lips thin and pale, and his eyes were mostly white and the size of serving plates. He looked old, and, Simon was surprised to see, strangely frail. His hand was still clutching River's, and it was the only part of him that seemed to have any strength left. Simon recovered quickly despite the shock.

"When did all this start?" He moved around to connect various equipment to his pasty, shaking sister. The engine rumbled to life, signaling their eminent escape.

"'Bout twenty minutes ago," Jayne said, squeezing his wife's hand back fiercely. "We didn't even get t' order our food. Alliance _hun dan_ snuck up on us, was lookin' t' kill both of us. We was gonna go t' the hospital, but the Feds found us 'n..." He ran his free hand through his sweaty hair, and uttered an exhausted breath. "Well, lookit 'er, Doc."

The two men paused, looking at the girl that held them together with the same unease and worry. River cried out, announcing another, harder contraction and the time elapsed between this and her last one. Jayne looked just about ready to break. The ship groaned, and lifted off.

"I need you out of here," Simon said succinctly. The bottles of medicine rattled in the cabinets as they made their way toward atmo. Jayne stared at Simon as if he'd suggested shoving a knife through his own throat.

"Hell no! No ruttin' way! I'm stayin' right here!" That absent strength seemed to flood back into the father-to-be instantly; fight or flight, and it seemed like fight was going to win. But Simon didn't back down.

"You need to leave," he insisted. "This is a small infirmary, and I need all the room I can get. I've delivered one baby, Jayne. _One_. That was on a backwater moon in a whorehouse. In _my_ infirmary, with _my _equipment, I'm going to deliver my sister's child when I hadn't planned to. This is going to go smoothly, and _you_ are going to wait outside. Now, go get Inara." Jayne didn't move, staring with indignant respect for the doctor's backbone. "I need someone to help with the baby, so _get me Inara_."

Jayne looked back down at River, who looked at him with a loving glance blanketed by the pain she was feeling. He steeled himself against every emotion he wanted to feel, nodded once, kissed her on the forehead, and charged out of the infirmary.

Twelve hours. Twelve hours after Jayne had delivered Inara to Simon in the infirmary, he was still waiting. He'd paced outside the infirmary for a while, where he was joined by the Shepherd and Zoe, who was no longer looking fancy. Book tried to speak words to the expectant father, but he would have none of it. Soon after, he'd retreated to the galley, where he realized he was not hungry. From there, he moved to sit in the crew corridor, just short of moving down the ladder into his own bunk. He simply sat with his back against the wall, sitting Indian-style and staring hard at the floor. Mal and Wash, retreating from the cockpit to get an update from the preacher, skirted Jayne respectfully and said not a word. He didn't even acknowledge them.

Kaylee had appeared at the six hour mark, sitting down beside him without a noise. After minutes of inspecting him and waiting in silence, she reached over and took his hand in hers. His facade faltered for only the tiniest moment, and he pressed his lips into a thin line. Feebly, he grasped back. And there they sat for six more long hours, without a single word. She'd leaned her head against his shoulder and fallen asleep.

It was Wash that ran up to retrieve them. He bounded up the steps, taking them two at a time, and appeared breathless before Jayne and Kaylee. Both sat up straight, suddenly and irreversibly attentive. Wash held up one hand, hanging his head between his knees to regain his breath. After a moment, his head popped up, and there was no mistaking the smile on his face. Both Jayne and Kaylee leapt to their feet, the latter throwing a hug around the former. With the mechanic still attached to him at the neck, Jayne interrogated the pilot.

"What's up? She all right? I mean, both of 'em?"

"Both just fine," Wash reported, still slightly red in the face from having run all the way through the ship. "River's a little tuckered out, but I think we're gonna allow her that. I gotta say," Wash added with a toothy smile, "you guys made a cute kid."

"The Doc gonna let me in?" Jayne asked, patting the still-clinging Kaylee on the back.

"He's the one who sent me to get you," Wash clarified, all but gesticulating wildly. "Go on, you crazy kids, get down there!" Jayne didn't need any more prodding, and he and Kaylee took off. Wash wheezed slightly, saying in an undertone that he'd rejoin them momentarily as he leaned one arm against the nearest wall.

All of them seemed to be waiting to greet the new father, as they'd all settled themselves into the lounge across from the infirmary. Mal, bleary-eyed from no sleep, stuck out his hand, which Jayne shook proudly. Book gave him a congratulatory clap on the back as he passed. Zoe was smiling, something she must keep stored up for special occasions, Jayne thought. Kaylee spurred him forward, gesturing toward the now-open infirmary doors. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, for it felt unnaturally tight, and steeled himself.

"All right," he told himself, and he stepped through the doors.

Inara was leaning tiredly against the far counter, taking off her soiled medical gloves. She smiled warmly as Jayne entered. Simon was standing over the exam table, looking more worn than he'd ever been, to Jayne's memory. He was speaking in a low voice to River, who lay on the exam table, covered to her mid-waist by a comfortable, thick white sheet. Her eyes were lidded and heavy with sleep that she wanted to have, and her mouth tugged up in a persistent, tired smile. She wasn't paying a lick of attention to her brother. She was staring at the bundle cradled in her arms.

Jayne's first thought was that it looked like a burrito with hair. He'd learn later that it was called swaddling, and newborns tended to like being wrapped tightly. That didn't keep him from thinking it. The shock of hair was very dark, much like his own, but beyond that, he could see nothing. River had the baby turned toward herself, and Jayne couldn't see its face. River gave a tired laugh, and Jayne looked from the baby to her eyes. She'd probably heard his thought about the burrito, and she nodded to confirm.

With a heavy movement, she brought her hand near her face and beckoned her husband closer with one finger. Simon seemed to notice Jayne's presence at last, and he stopped speaking immediately. There seemed to be absolute silence for a moment, and then _Serenity_ squealed pleasurably, welcoming the new addition to her crew with joy. The edge of Jayne's lip twitched into a smile, and he stepped forward to stand beside his wife.

"Looks like you," River murmured as he came to stand beside her. He cleared his throat nervously, and finally looked down to the bundle in River's arms. She was pink and squashed, eyes closed and tiny, spindly fists balled near her face. He'd never thought he'd see anything so small, but looking at the size of his little girl's fingernails, her tiny eyelashes, the thin little lips, he was amazed that something so small could even exist.

"Yeah," Jayne responded in an equally low voice, "she does."

"She's a little early," Simon butted in, hoping to be heard, "so she's a little smaller than she should be. But she'll grow fast, once River starts feeding her. I wouldn't be surprised if she put on five ounces in a week."

River gently ran her fingers over the soft, silky hair of her daughter, careful of her soft head. "She's beautiful," she said in a watery voice. Simon gave up his battle to inform the new parents, and simply let them be.

"Whaddya think?" Jayne asked, slipping his arm nonchalantly around River's weary shoulders. "She look like a Molly?"

"Definitely," River assured him, leaning into his arm. "Molly Esther Cobb. Molly for your grandmother, Esther for mine." She blinked hazily, looking ready to fall dead asleep at any moment. She blinked happy tears from tired eyes, kissed her sleeping baby on the forehead, and leaned back into Jayne's arm.

"That sounds real smart," Jayne said after a brief pause. "Howdy, Molly. I'm your Papa." The baby didn't respond, and no one had expected her to. Surprisingly, Inara's eyes had welled up with tears, and she excused herself to the lounge.

"Congratulations," Simon said from the other side of the exam table. Jayne looked up at his brother-in-law, smirked, and held out his hand. Simon shook it, smiling past his weary sigh.

"Thanks, Simon," Jayne muttered, almost as if he didn't want the doctor to hear.

The doctor finally noticed the angry stab wound in Jayne's shoulder, which even the merc had forgotten. As Simon patched him up across the room, Jayne could only sit and stare at his girls. His wife and their little bear.

AN: Hey folks, guess what? My mama gots internets! And I also leave for school in two days! Her internets are kinda weird, and they won't let me do certain things on (like make those little separating lines that I like so much; I'll prolly fix that when I get to school, so just deal for now...) Also, when I get back to school, that means more and faster updates. I hope you like! And welcome Molly Cobb to the crew! I had a lot of fun writing this, and it's the longest so far of Zodiac. Woo! Hope you had fun reading, and stay awesome!


	7. Leo

**Leo**

* * *

_Leo _(The Lion) : Keyword: "I will". Generous, proud, theatrical, passionate, loves attention, dramatic, independent, noble, creative, leader, sunny, bright, kingly, powerful, loves a crowd, intelligent, resourseful, cunning, sweet, flash tempered. _Ruling Planet_ : Sun : Personal strength, vitality and achievement, leadership qualities, power and authority; the need to express oneself; creativity, parenthood, (especially fatherhood), the need for recognition, esteem and personal pride. Ruler of the zodiac sign Leo.

* * *

As he made their breakfasts at the usual unreasonable hour, Jayne got to hear an unexpected conversation approaching from the crew corridor. It was the other married couple making their way in the darkness before day-cycle began. They conversed in night tones, aware of the hour and how every sane creature aboard the ship was asleep. Sanity didn't apply to new parents, Jayne thought with a sniff.

"I said it before, Wash, and I'll keep on sayin' it 'til you know I mean it. _Really_ mean it," Zoe whispered into the darkness. Their footsteps shuffled closer. Jayne didn't bother to hide the fact that he was listening in.

"I don't think we've been living on the same boat for the last three weeks," Wash laughed incredulously. "Because on the ship _I'm_ piloting, there's this little terror living down in the passenger dorms--a little terror related to the two scariest people _I've_ ever known--and it's been more than a little hard to sleep at night even with feet of thick steel between me and her."

Jayne grunted as he stared down at the cold protein substitute of a breakfast. That wasn't no way to talk about _his_ little girl. He mentally dared Wash to go on.

Zoe entered the galley first, minimally dressed in the early hours, but still decent. Wash was similarly-garbed, in what Jayne could most accurately describe as a Hawaiian nightmare on pajama pants. He could only barely stifle a guffaw.

"Scary as they are, they have a baby and we don't. Don't that seem kinda sad t' you?" Zoe asked, not having noticed Jayne in the shadows of the kitchen.

"Well, no, not really," Wash admitted, rubbing one of his eyes laboriously. A pause. "Okay, _maybe_, but... Heck if Jayne can do it--"

"Mornin'," Jayne rumbled threateningly from his position in the shadows. Wash gave a quick shout and jumped about three feet into the air. Zoe turned nonchalantly, nodding in return.

"Morning, Jayne," she returned. "You up already?"

"You kiddin'?" Jayne uttered, sounding exhausted. "I been up 'fore any 'a you for more'n a week." He pointed to his eyes. "You see these? Looks like I got a pair of shiners!"

Zoe smirked knowingly, and Wash gestured wildly in Jayne's direction. "See? See? Do you _want_ that? The... the bag-things under your eyes? Honey, I love you, but _bags_?"

"You're 'bout three seconds from my fist in your face, little man," Jayne grumbled, narrowing his eyes. Wash backed off, holding up both hands in surrender. The new father scooped up both bowls of tasteless breakfast mush and plodded off for the stairs down to _Serenity_'s lower level. Zoe grinned slowly in Wash's direction, who looked as if he'd seen a particularly violent ghost.

"Ain't that sweet?" Zoe asked. Wash shook his head slowly while her eye was still fixed on Jayne, and changed quickly to an enthusiastic nod as soon as she turned back to him. She allowed a quiet smile. "Nice cover, baby."

The light was on when Jayne returned to what had previously only been River's room. The door was open, allowing a shaft of warm light to splash into the hallway. Simon's room, across the hall, was still dark and silent. Clearing his throat to announce his return, Jayne nudged the sliding door open with one shoulder, entered, and slid it closed again with his foot.

Molly was quiet now, her pretty blue eyes wide open and staring at the room in perpetual wonder. River had her lying on the bed beside her, looking even more red-eyed and tired than Jayne. The new mother ran a brush in calming strokes through her long hair, half-asleep but knowing that she was destined to be awake for the rest of the day. She smiled sweetly as Jayne walked in, and thankfully took the breakfast he'd made her.

"Valiant Papa Bear," she said, fondly brushing her fingers through the hair on the back of his head as he took a careful seat on the bed beside her.

"Yeah, yeah," he tried to shuffle it off, but a proud little smirk couldn't be wiped from his face. He scooped his spoon into his oatmeal and swallowed it before it had a chance to sit on his tongue. "What's she up to?" He asked, pointing at their child with his spoon across River's back. She turned her head to look at the black-haired little girl.

"Exercises," River explained simply. "Watch." She leaned over Molly, who looked extremely surprised to see her mother's face suddenly hovering over her. The little girl's eyes went wide, and her tiny mouth formed an "o" of recognition. Jayne allowed himself a broad grin, an instinctual move that he compensated for by stuffing another spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. Without warning, River flipped Molly over onto her stomach.

Jayne nearly spit all of the oatmeal out of his mouth then, inversely, almost choked on it. Once he managed to control the gag reflex, he swallowed his oatmeal and was almost on his feet. "Yer gonna smother her!"

River shook her head, and nodded down at Molly. The girl effortlessly raised her head up, just barely, looking like one of those penguin things he'd seen on the Cortex. Nevertheless, Jayne's eyes remained wide as he looked back to River.

"You gave me a ruttin' heart attack, girl," he breathed.

"Can't hold her own head up unless she's on her stomach," River clarified. "Learning fast."

"They s'posed to do that?" He asked, looking down at his little girl like she was just the smartest thing he'd ever seen. River gave a tired laugh.

"Yes, but she is still very smart. She knows her Mama Bear."

"Yeah?" He scraped another taste of breakfast from his bowl and levered himself off of the bed to crouch beside Molly. "You know your Mama, huh? How 'bout Papa?"

In response, Molly wobbled and plopped back down into the blanket. Jayne sighed, stood, and rolled Molly over onto her back again. Her wide, curious eyes took him in, and her little fists clenched and unclenched beside her face. River smiled affectionately up at her man, then followed his hand as it moved from his side to poke Molly's hand gently. Her baby fingers wrapped around his, her entire fist barely big enough to grasp his single digit.

"Y'know," Jayne said after a long pause of watching Molly make sucking-faces. He then continued to pause, and didn't finish his sentence.

"Too tired to read your mind, _hui xiong_," she said, finishing off the breakfast he'd brought her.

Jayne leaned down to carefully scoop Molly up in his arms, mindful of her head. "Y'know," he tried again, "you ain't been sleepin'."

"I _do_ know that," River responded simply. "Molly demands my breasts at an ever-increasing rate."

Jayne had to allow his snickering to pass before he continued with his statement. "How 'bout today is a Jayne 'n Molly day?"

River was silent for a moment, watching Jayne bounce Molly with a quirked grin on his face. "Could be disastrous," she said quietly.

"Aw, c'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" Jayne asked. "You need yer sleep, and it ain't like me 'n the cub are gonna be all by our lonesome on this bird."

River gave a heavy, concerned look at her little girl, weighed her options, and at last offered a conceding nod. Jayne beamed in return.

"Makes sense," she admitted as he leaned down to steal a kiss from her. "Need sleep to care for the baby, can't sleep because I'm caring for the baby, paradoxical."

"You keep all them paradoxicals in yer head. Me 'n the Cub 're takin' a trip."

"Change her diapers," she reminded him as, with his free hand, he threw the blanket across her. "Keep her warm, not too warm, mind her head."

"I been a Dad fer three weeks," he said with a laugh that jostled the baby slightly against his chest. "I think I can handle a few hours." He searched for a long moment for the diaper bag River always had packed for emergency occasions such as Jayne demanding a day with the baby.

"Love you, _hui xiong_," she murmured as she nestled into her pillow.

"Back at ya, _bao bei_," he responded, switching off the light.

Just as he exited the room and slid the door shut, Jayne whirled around to see Simon standing only inches in front of him. Had he not been a more sturdy man, Jayne might have jumped at the sudden appearance.

"Mornin', Doc," Jayne nodded. He still wasn't used to calling his brother-in-law by his name, and Simon had come to accept that. The doctor was rubbing one of his eyes of sleep, and looked secretly appalled at the hour in which he'd woke.

"I'm glad you didn't prefix that with 'good'," he mumbled back. Simon offered a smile for his niece, poking her nose affectionately. "I hear it's a father-daughter day?"

Jayne nodded past a yawn.

"I could offer my services as an uncle--"

"Git back t' bed," Jayne demanded. "I got 'er."

"It's too late now," Simon sighed, buttoning his shirt up as he spoke. "When I'm up, I'm up."

"Right," Jayne said quickly, "maybe y' didn't hear right. Me 'n Molly. Not me, Molly 'n Uncle Simon. Not me, Molly, Uncle Simon 'n the mechanic he's hidin' in his room. Got that?" Jayne shook his head as he walked off for the stairs, muttering something along the line of "the stuff he's exposin' my little girl to." Simon looked completely mortified, especially as the fully-blushing, disheveled Kaylee emerged from his room behind him.

_Serenity_ was quiet when Inara woke. If they had been planetside, she might have looked out the front windows of her shuttle to see the pink fingers of dawn barely peeking over the horizon. But no, they were afloat in the black, and there would be no sun rising to light the day. She did miss the dawns. The companion opened the door to her shuttle, pulling her shawl close over her shoulders in the morning chill. As usual, she was the first to wake on a ship full of slugabeds, but the now-familiar sounds of baby-wails from the passenger dorms was strangely absent that morning. Her mouth turned down only slightly, wondering what the change in schedule meant, when she heard a noise from the shuttle opposite her own.

Voices, she noted, as she moved quietly closer. Or, more accurately, _one_ voice. The door to the empty shuttle was slightly ajar, and the gruff voice issuing from therein was incredibly familiar. Inara sidled up to the shuttle door, sitting beside it to listen clandestinely to what she knew he would never let anyone hear on purpose.

"And this here's Vera," Jayne said in a low voice from inside the shuttle. "She's... Well, she's my favorite gun, that's all ya really gotta know. Don't think you're old enough t' care 'bout custom triggers."

Molly issued a childish burble, probably full of slobber. This was confirmed as Jayne uttered something along the lines of "eurgh," set down Vera with a metallic clunk and rooted around in something. Inara barely contained a laugh.

"Now," Jayne said after having finished cleaning up the girl's spit bubbles, "this one's got a real nice story." Inara could hear him drawing a gun out of its holster. Had it been anyone else, she might have worried about guns around a baby. But Jayne knew what he was doing. Mal payed him to know what he was doing. Unthinkingly, Inara had leaned in closer to hear the story more clearly.

"This'n? Took her off of some stupid son-of-a--"

Inara braced herself for the slur, but Jayne had halted himself with a jerk in his voice. This surprised her.

"Well, he weren't smart like your Mama, that's for damn sure. Anyway," he said through Molly's incoherent burbling, "fella stabs me right here." Inara couldn't see where he was pointing, and felt left out of the story. Determined, she stood as quietly as possible and peeked though the window on the door to the shuttle.

Jayne was turned slightly away from the door, cradling a swaddled Molly in one arm and holding a silver, gleaming pistol in the other, pointing sharply at his shoulder right where it met his breastbone. Her eyebrows shot up. That was the nasty, deep stab wound Simon had cleaned up the day Molly was born.

"Now, it don't hurt much 'cause me 'n your Mama are in one helluva jam. This... this..." He was obviously trying not to swear, which made Inara smile instinctually. "This fella's got me 'n her pinned down in a gorram restaurant, last-stand-type heroics 'n all that. He's shootin' like he ain't never held a gun in his life, which," he paused to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, "I don't get. Y' send someone out t' catch yer government-trained livin' weapon, you ain't gonna send Johnny Dumbass with 'is cheap-as-hell haircut. So you know what I do, Molly?"

The girl was silent, her eyelids drooping and her mouth making sucking motions. Inara's heart melted at the sight, despite ducking out of view as Jayne turned to face the door more squarely.

"I gotta pro-tect what's mine, right? This guy's got my girls in a mess 'a trouble, and I ain't gonna stand for that. So the idiot just sticks his head right up and I pop him a real good one right where it counts.

"See, Little Bear," he held up the pistol to emphasize his coming point, "when y' shoot someone, and y' want him dead, gotta make sure you hit him where it's gonna kill him. Don't want no bleedin' mess. You want him alive, take out the leg or the shoulder, somewhere that'll bleed nice 'n good but it ain't gonna kill him right out. You want 'im dead, you get the head or the chest, were that bullet's gonna stick and cause a right mess 'fore it's done."

A wide grin took Jayne's face, looking straight down at the girl bundled in the crook of his arm. "See, this here's the gun I took from that Alliance waste-of-skin. I call 'er Ruth."

Then, Molly smiled. Inara was watching as Jayne's smile melted into something so soft that she had to blink to make sure this was the same man. Inara knew that look. Oh, yes, how she knew that face. With that light in his eye, Inara knew that Jayne loved this little girl more than he could ever love himself, all of his guns and anyone else combined. Inara knew of only one other person who had received this look, and it was his wife, the day he told her that he loved her.

"Oh, Jayne," Inara sighed fondly, overcome for some odd reason.

Jayne jumped, though not enough to jostle the child in his arms, his eyes shooting to the small window in the door of the shuttle. Inara laughed softly to see the embarrassed flush that had come to his cheeks, which he scoffed away quickly.

"Jee-zus, 'Nara," he breathed, looking both cross and sheepish. "My wife been teachin' you t' sneak around?"

"You named your gun Ruth?" Inara asked, knowing the question to be a screen. She stepped into the shuttle, taking note that half the contents of the diaper bag was strewn about; Jayne had been here for quite some time.

"Yeah," he admitted off-handedly. Molly was half-asleep, her eyes not quite having decided whether to stay open or closed. Jayne smirked at her, then wiped it away when he looked back up toward Inara. The companion was smiling at him like he'd done the shiniest thing, and he wasn't quite sure if he liked it or not.

"Anything special behind the name?" She asked as she stood beside him and looked down at the little pink bundle. Jayne laughed dryly, only once.

"Named 'er after River." Catching Inara's confusion, he only said, "Long story."

A silence took them, and for once, it was not completely uncomfortable. Both pairs of eyes were locked on the baby as she slowly, surely fell asleep in Jayne's arms. The companion traced her fingertips in Molly's wispy black hair. Somewhere above, the sounds of early morning on _Serenity_ were beginning to arise.

There was something caught in Inara's throat as she said: "You're a good father, Jayne."

Jayne didn't look up to catch her eye as he responded simply. "Thanks, 'Nara."

Aunt Inara let Molly sleep in her shuttle that morning, and after the girl had taken her lunch from her mother, Inara took her to nap in her shuttle once again. Mr. and Mrs. Cobb curled up together in the same bed that afternoon, taking a long and well-deserved nap of their own.

* * *

AN: Hey all, and sorry again about late updates. I feel really bad that I can't do these any faster, but I do what I can. College, while not quite kicking my ass, is still tough. Just so ya know, Leo is my sign (RAWR) and it just turned out to be almost completely Jayne-centric. Coincidence? Perhaps. I felt kinda pressured to make this one really good, and I hope I manage to live up to my own gorram expectations. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, guys, it really makes my day and want to keep impressing y'all (wonder how long I can keep that up...?). Tell me if there's anything I need to work on, or anything that needs fixin'. Thanks much, again, and keep that awesome thang happening! 


	8. Virgo

**Virgo**

* * *

_Virgo _(The Virgin) : Keyword: "I analyze". Practical, efficient, critical, work and service oriented, common sense, modest, health conscious, mentally active, fussy, helpful, loving, flexible. _Ruling Planet_ : Mercury : Mentality, communication, (especially for short distances), thought processes, teaching, schooling and basic education, literary pursuits, the immediate environment or neighborhood, capacity to be logical, detached and rational. Ruler of the zodiac signs Gemini and Virgo.

* * *

"Where's that little'n 'a yours, Jayne?" 

"Good t' see you too, Ma," Jayne sighed, rolling his eyes at the camera in what he considered to be a subtle way. Subtlety did not seem to be a strong Cobb gene.

"Well, I know what _you_ look like, ya big lummox," she replied in an equally sarcastic way. "I ain't heard a single word 'bout this grandbaby 'a mine, like you're hidin' her from me! Should be 'bout six weeks now?"

"Seven," Jayne said almost off-handedly. "She came a week early, Ma."

"Land's sakes," Ma gasped, holding a hand to her chest for effect. "That happened t' yer brother Mattie."

They were quiet for a moment. Mattie had been getting steadily worse, and they both knew that he might not have much longer. Despite the money he managed to forward to his family, Jayne felt that his younger brother was headed down a long road he couldn't return from. Ma looked away, breathing a light sigh.

"River's bringin' her up," Jayne said finally. Ma brightened slightly. She planned on avoiding the subject of Mattie's failing health for as long as she possibly could.

"I get t' see both 'a your girls, then?"

Jayne smiled, just a small tug at his lips. He looked up as River and Molly entered, only one of them oblivious to the conversation Jayne and his mother had been having. With her free hand, River squeezed Jayne's shoulder comfortingly, then sat in his lap as easily as if he'd been the very chair.

"Good morning, Ma," River said, smiling into the camera.

"It's just 'bout mid-afternoon here, darlin', but it'll do," Ma returned. Jayne uttered something between a scoff and a laugh, which he covered up by coughing. River and Ma shook their heads at him in a nearly identical way.

"Is that yer little'n?" Ma asked eagerly.

"Molly Esther Cobb," River said, waving Molly's chubby little hand in the direction of the camera, "meet your paternal grandmother."

Ma was quiet for some time, just watching from her end with a lingering smile. Then, all at once, she sighed and clasped her hands as if overcome.

"Why, Jayne, she looks just like ya."

"Spitting image," River said, smiling at Jayne as if she'd had this conversation with him many times. "Strong Cobb genes."

"Hey, that ain't true," Jayne interjected before his mother could say anything. "She's got your ears."

River laughed, and Molly tried to copy the noises her mother was making. "She got all of Jayne's important parts."

"Now wait a sec," he said, grinning himself, "I know for a fact she ain't got my _most_ important--"

"Not in front of Molly," River whispered clandestinely as she clapped a hand over Jayne's mouth.

"What, yer fine in front 'a my _mother_?" He said as he pried her hand from his mouth.

"Speakin' on yer mother," Ma Cobb cut in, oddly not looking miffed at the interruption.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Ma," Jayne said, settling further in his seat and cinching his arm around River's waist. The girl always found it amazing that Jayne only ever really listened to two people in his life: his mother and his wife. And, she supposed, his daughter, eventually.

Ma smiled innocently, her hands still clasped. "So, when y'all comin' down?"

"Hold on," Jayne protested over Molly's sudden wordless babbling. "Ma, we talked on this already. I ain't the pilot and I ain't the captain!"

"Well, get 'em on in here," Ma suggested with a small shrug. "I turned 'em last time, I'll turn 'em again."

"We're on a job, Ma," Jayne said quickly, shooting a pleading look at his wife to back him up.

"True," River said, tucking Molly close against her chest and catching the drool from the little girl's mouth. "Captain has us working as a passenger ship. Ferrying wayfarers from Persephone to Angel."

"There ya go!" Ma said happily. "Angel ain't so far from Aberdeen. Y'all can do yer job then settle down here for a spell. I don't mind, y' know that. I can look after the little'n for you."

Jayne and River exchanged a glance. After a moment, he turned back to the camera. "I can't promise nothin', Ma."

"Y'all at least got t' come down 'n see Mattie--"

Neither of them liked where the conversation had suddenly gone. They both caught their breath at the same moment, and seemed unwilling to let go of it. Ma wrung her hands and broke eye contact.

"Just tell me you'll try, Jayne."

A pause. "I'll talk t' the Cap'n. I'll wave the station if we're settin' in, t' let ya know."

Ma just smiled, and took her gaze to River and Molly. The former tried to smile, and Molly clenched her baby fist in front of her large blue eyes. "Awright," Ma said at last. "Give the best t' yer little mechanic."

"Will do," River assured her.

They said their goodbyes and Jayne switched off the camera, and the screen showing his portly little mother blinked out. He sat staring at the blank screen for a long time in complete silence, and River just let it happen. After a span of nearly two minutes, Jayne heaved a heavy sigh, full in his chest, and leaned his forehead against River's. It was affectionate, but something else about it almost shocked her. He needed her comfort, something she knew he would never verbally admit to anyone. But she could see the thoughts he kept from everyone.

"Oh, Jayne," she breathed, stroking his hair softly, Molly cradled in her other arm.

He shook his head. "I don't want t' talk about it." His voice was strained despite his closeness to her.

And due to his wishes, she said nothing. She kissed him soft and sweet, and ignored the sad hitch in his breath. He brushed his thumb just barely against her cheek, and she watched his eyes in the darkness. He divulged nothing. He then ducked in for another quick kiss and levered the three of them from the pilot's chair.

"C'mon," he said, pressing his thumb against Molly's nose to her immense enjoyment. "Let's go meet the cargo."

Most everyone was gathered in the cargo bay, standing idly around to wait for the arrival of passengers. They didn't deal through Badger this time; Mal had other friends on Persephone, but was loath to mention it lest this news got around. This time, he took the passenger roster from a fella known as DeMarco. Mal was mum on the nature of their relationship.

"Howdy, there," Mal said as Molly approached in her mother's arms. He tickled the girl under the chin and grinned around at the gathered crew members as if he'd done something incredible. Zoe started a slow-clap that only got the others laughing. Mal retreated, but his smile was unmistakable. He'd grown fond of the girl, and Jayne was never going to let him forget it.

Book, sitting aside on the staircase, pulled something out of his pocket, glanced at it, then stuffed it back where it came from. "Your friends are late, Captain. Perhaps we should start thinking about closing up for the night." The chilly air of nighttime Persephone was spilling in from the open loading ramp. Mal shook his head.

"We ain't closin'. And when they get here, they're t' be treated with respect and... and hospitality." Someone scoffed; he guessed it was Jayne. "There's just two of 'em this time, and DeMarco's payin' me a hefty sum t' get 'em on over to Angel, so we'll be havin' no rough-housin'." He glanced in Jayne's direction, and the merc sneered slightly. The last time they took on passengers, Jayne may or may not have knocked the teeth out of one of them. Then again, they_had_ ended up being kidnappers.

"Speakin' on Angel," Jayne said as nonchalantly as possible, but Mal interrupted him by holding up a hand.

"Before you launch off, lemme just say that we don't get paid 'til we get back t' DeMarco with the passengers from Angel t' Persephone. It's a two-way deal."

Jayne growled a sigh. "Look, Mal, can ya swing by Aberdeen 'n let us off? Me, River 'n Molly, I mean."

Mal looked as if he were trying very hard not to laugh and remain serious. "Your Ma waved, didn't she?"

Jayne cleared his throat, crossing his arms and looking down the ramp. "Maybe."

"We'll talk about it," Mal said, grinning to himself at a joke only he heard.

"Can we talk about it _now_?" Jayne grumbled, quickly bored with this game.

"After we pick up the passengers from Angel. We'll talk then," Mal patted Jayne on the shoulder patronizingly and moved to step past him.

Jayne spun on Mal, halfway to livid. "Hey, just 'cause I play daddy t' River 'n the baby don't mean I still ain't a mean son-of-a-bitch. So stop treatin' me like a gorram little girl, Mal!"

The bay was quiet for too long, and Kaylee fidgeted beside Simon. Molly burbled something incoherent, something almost sad. The noise seemed to break Jayne's determination, and he grudgingly retreated from the front lines.

"Sorry, Cap'n. Should 'a kept my mouth shut."

"Yeah," Mal said, unsure of what he was agreeing to. He was too busy staring Jayne down and trying to figure him out.

"Hey!" A shout came from outside the ship. "Can we get a little help down here?" The voice was young and male. Simon shook the tension out of himself and squeezed Kaylee's hand to bring her back as well.

"We're comin'," Zoe called into the darkness, then turned to the captain. "Sir? You 'n Jayne gonna keep on with the staring contest or--"

"Yeah, we're on it," Mal assured her, waving her down the ramp before him. He turned back to Jayne, looking, for once, concerned. "Hey, there anything you wanna tell me?"

"I don't want t' talk about it," Jayne said quickly. He walked away from the captain, toward the ramp. He smiled at his wife as he passed her, and followed Zoe into the night.

Mal shuffled his feet for a short moment before he turned to River and opened his mouth to speak. River wasn't even looking at him when she spoke.

"Doesn't want to talk about it," she told him, pecking a kiss on Molly's brow to quiet her nonsensical babbling. "Won't do any good to interrogate his psychic wife."

Mal laughed self-depriciatingly. "Y' caught me, Albatross." He watched the dark outside the ship for a quiet moment, arms akimbo, and shook his head. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder if I miss the old Jayne."

"Same Jayne," River said as she turned to him with a broad smile. "I just found where he kept the best of him."

They exchanged a moment, and even the craggy captain softened. Jayne announced their arrival back on board by swearing quite loudly as he nearly dropped a heavy something on his toe.

"Gorramit, Mal, could ya help out just a _little_?"

"Nope," Mal said. "That's why I'm the captain and you ain't."

Jayne grumbled in response. "Don't know why yer passengers need all this _zhui liu_ luggage. Where they think they're goin', Londinium?"

"And they can all wear shiny hats," Mal offered while rolling his eyes as he strolled away from River and toward the loading ramp. "All that's goin' in the Doctor's bunk. I'm assumin' you don't mind housin' him, Kaylee?"

The woman flushed brightly, and looked frantically about, then added a strained, "What?"

"Ain't a secret you're shackin' up with my brother-in-law," Jayne said with a grin as he hauled a heavy case by them. Both Simon and Kaylee looked pale, but neither offered an other possible suggestion.

"Who's shacking up?" A strange voice asked. The crew looked to the ramp to see two redheads making their way up after Jayne, a young man and woman who looked eerily similar. Twins, Mal guessed. They looked to be in their early twenties, with little possibility of being any older. Mal grimaced.

"None 'a your business," he told the male twin. "I'm Captain Reynolds. You're the Delamere kids?"

"That we are, Captain," the male Delamere said with a bright smile. "Pleasure t' meet you. I'm Devon, and this is my sister Emmy."

"Thanks for havin' us on, Captain," Emmy said, glancing apprehensively around at the ship. Jayne grunted to get their attention.

"Hey, boy. Get movin'. This ain't gettin' any lighter."

"Awright, keep your pants on," Devon said as he patted Emmy's shoulder. "Talk t' the Captain. Fill him in." With that, Jayne and Devon disappeared below. Zoe, carrying a second, smaller case similar to the one Jayne had hauled in, appeared up the ramp with a tired sigh.

Emmy chose not to speak with the captain, instead looking sweet and offered to help Zoe with the case. Zoe shook her head, thanked her for the kindness, and followed Jayne toward the passenger dorms. And Emmy lingered, looking quite like she'd been thrown in front of a moving train.

It took only a moment for Molly to start her quiet baby-whining, which attracted Emmy's attention. She gasped and held her fingers to her lips in wonder. "Gosh, is that a baby? Is that _your_ baby?"

"She is," River replied, bouncing Molly gently and cooing to her in attempts to calm her. Emmy moved close, looking down at the child with a warm, fond smile.

"She got a daddy? 'Cause me 'n Devon, our daddy's out on Angel. That's where we're headed, y'know. Her daddy here onboard?" Emmy seemed engrossed, and resisted playing with the bob of dark hair tied with a blue bow atop Molly's head.

"Jayne is her daddy," River said calmly. Emmy put on her best befuddled face, at which Molly laughed in a hiccupy giggle. "Big Papa Bear, who helped with your luggage."

"Really?" Emmy spun to look down to where Jayne had disappeared, as if to get another look at him. "That big fella? Gorram, he's prob'ly... He don't look like a daddy."

"All right, twenty questions time's over," Mal said as he steered Emmy Delamere away from River, who bobbed with Molly. "What's this your brother said 'bout fillin' me in?"

"Oh, he says t' tell the captain why Mr. DeMarco's sendin' us on a cargo route instead of a normal transport."

"We're takin' _cargo_ routes?" Mal asked, looking dubious.

"Mr. DeMarco says they're faster," Emmy said with a bright, childish grin.

"Any reason you're needin' to speed t' Angel?"

Emmy took a breath to respond, but Devon's voice came from the stairwell near the infirmary: "Emmy, come on 'n help us out with your crap!"

"Got it, Devon!" Emmy called back sprightly. "I think these 12 days are gonna be fantastic, Captain Reynolds, don't you?" She hopped off toward the sound of Devon's voice.

Mal's hand was heavy on River's shoulder as he said only one thing: "Thank you."

"For?" River asked, too busy with the baby to bother reading him.

"For bein' a psychic freak."

River smiled. "Couldn't stand a normal girl?" Mal just shook his head. "You're welcome, Uncle Mal."

"I don't like 'em," Jayne grunted as he slid the door closed behind him. The light was yellow and dim, and cast heavy shadows on River and Molly as they sat on the bed. Molly's eyes wobbled around until they found the source of the noise, and she clenched and unclenched her tiny fists in the direction of her father. His smile appeared as he took her from River's arms and touched his thumb to the girl's little nose.

"You never like them," River said, standing to dress for sleep.

"Yeah, but... Well, I like 'em more'n those ruttin' kidnappers we had on last time." River laughed, as if to say, 'that's not saying much'.

"Time for Molly to go to bed," River announced as she slipped out of her shirt and into her silky blue sleepwear. Jayne's eyes lingered on her across the room, especially the curve of her back and hips as she faced away from him. He could just tell that she was smiling sardonically, even if he couldn't see her face. "A bedtime story would be appropriate."

"All those stories you got 'er are..." He shook his head, not able to find the word he wanted to describe them. "They're... _jian nan_ and you know it."

"She won't learn anything if we don't teach her," River said as she tied up her mass of hair into a knot behind her head. She turned to face Jayne in all seriousness. "Schooling for Simon started--"

"Well, she ain't Simon. And she ain't gonna understand any 'a that stuff y' want me t' read to her. Hell,_ I_ don't understand it!"

River remarkably refrained from commentary. "What kind of story would Jayne like to tell?" She sat on the bed and invited Jayne to join her. Molly cooed, both parents in her vision, and smiled a toothless smile.

"Well, lie on down and I'll get to it. Can't think proper if you're hoverin'."

"Jayne's story tonight," she said as she leaned in to kiss him. "River's story tomorrow."

"Deal." He stole another kiss from her before she lay down and curled the pillow up behind her head. "Awright, Molly, here we go. You 'n me 'n storytime." River snorted a giggle into the fluff of the pillow. "Hey, no laughin'! That ain't fair, I don't laugh at_your_ stories."

"No more laughing," she said as she mimed a zipper across her lips.

"Okay, Molly, this here's one 'a my favorites from when _my_ Ma used t' tell me stories. There was this--"

Suddenly, Molly gave a short cry and looked toward the sliding door of their room with her wide blue eyes. Her chubby fist pointed in that same direction. Only one second later, the door slid open in a flash to reveal Emmy Delamere in her grinning glory.

"Oh, I didn't know this was _your_ bunk! Fancy that! We're like bunkmates! How shiny is that?" She flashed a white grin at Jayne, waving at wide-eyed Molly with one finger. With that, Emmy closed the door back again and was gone.

Jayne and River stared at one another, stunned into silence. Finally, Jayne growled a whisper: "Did you see that?"

"The rude redhead ramming her head into our room?" River asked, glaring daggers after the girl.

"Naw, I mean Molly. Did ya see...?" He pointed to the door, then to Molly. "D'you think she...?"

"Finish your sentences, Jayne."

"She knew the door was gonna open 'fore it opened," Jayne said, looking slightly flabbergasted at the little girl in his arms.

River sat up from the pillow, looking Jayne straight in the eye with a cold seriousness that frightened the both of them. "Say what you mean, Jayne."

"D'you think she's--"

"Like me," River finished for him. "Changed my mind. Don't want to hear you say it." She rubbed her hands up and down her arms for a moment, suddenly cold, then attempted a smile. "You think she's like me?" There were tears in her eyes.

Jayne was now very sorry that he'd even brought anything up. He wrapped his free arm about her, pulling her close against his side so that they fit together. She tried to blink the fog from her eyes, but looking into his honest face wasn't helping any.

"Honey, if she's anythin' like you, then I'm just gonna have the shiniest pair 'a girls in the 'Verse. And that ain't lyin'."

River just buried her face into his chest and sniffled into his shirt. After another minute of silence, she heard Jayne's voice resonate deep in his chest as he began speaking again in a low, quiet voice.

"Now, this here's a favorite from when my Ma used t' tell me stories. There was this fella called Robin Hood..."

* * *

_zhui liu_ - useless  
_jian nan_ - difficult

AN: Okay... Okay, so I lied about getting this chapter up faster, and I'm SORRY! I really meant to, but this chapter decided to kick my ass. It's really just an intermediary chapter leading into the action for next chapter. And the action is really gonna take off in the last four chapters. So, don't be discouraged by the lack of action in this one. It's gonna pick up! And I felt I was leaving poor Book out, so he got stuck in here. ANYWAY, uhh, yes, Jayne likes Robin Hood. Who doesn't? So, tell me what ya think of this chapter, if I need to kick myself in the ass to stop making useless chapters, or if I'm finally getting boring. (trust me, tho, it's all a set-up for next chapter! dun dun dunnn). Thanks for sticking with me so far, and I hope I can make it worth your time. Thanks much and STAY AWESOME!!


	9. Aries

**Aries**

* * *

_Aries_ (The Ram) : Keyword: "I am". Free, assertive, individualistic, impulsive, intellectual, headstrong, pioneering, leader, action-oriented, intemperate, violent, fiery, straightforward, extreme, arrogant, passionate, powerful, loner, freedom-loving. _Ruling Planet_ : Mars : Urge for action, personal energy and drive, assertiveness and aggression, sexuality and passions. Sport, physical activity and competition. Ruler of the zodiac sign Aries.

* * *

She was barely in the door before he was all over her. She squeaked at the surprise of his big hands grasping her about the waist and pulling her through the doorway. He shut it behind them in the same movement as he leaned down to kiss her hot and sweet on the mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed with sudden affection, and she threw her arms up and around his neck. In a strangely girlish move, one of her legs kicked up daintily behind her. 

"Jayne," she murmured against his neck as he moved them further into the room like they were waltzing.

"What?" he murmured back, taking little kisses from her face and neck.

"Nothing," she groaned, tilting her head back and gripping his shoulders tightly.

He had her trapped against the wall, his fingers doing all sorts of interesting things to her insides. "Where's Molly?"

"Aunt Malcolm," she responded, using as few words as possible. It felt good to touch his hair again, his chest and his shoulders. "Oh, Jayne..."

"Don't talk," he commanded, and took her lips with his to assure it was followed. It'd been over two months, just barely, and he wanted to make sure that neither of them had forgotten anything. This wasn't time to waste with words.

She responded with an odd little sound that made him laugh and love her even more. Her shirt was easily gone, and she kicked off her flowing skirt without second thought. And it was she that tore them away from the wall and into the bedsprings.

After only five minutes, a hard knock at the door send them into a blushing and stuttering halt. River tumbled off of him and onto the hard floor with an embarrassed yelp. Jayne yanked on his boxers quickly and hid his girl under the sheets and opened the sliding door red-faced and chest still heaving excitedly.

"What the _hell_ d'ya want?" He asked, eyes bright and brow drawn hard.

Grinning Emmy Delamere simply cocked her head playfully at him. "Just wonderin' how y'all are doin'. Sounds like an awful lot's goin' on in there, and I wanted t' make sure you was all right."

He breathed hard into the following silence, staring her down in her idiocy. "_Zu zhou_!" Jayne growled in a staccato breath, unable to think of anything wittier in his state. "What're we _doin_'?"

Emmy ignored him and poked her head into the room. "Well, lookit that. Layout's different than ours."

"Emmy..." River warned, barely visible from under the sheets.

The young woman looked up to see Jayne glaring straight death at her, gritting his teeth in attempts to not rip out her throat. "Get. Out. Of. My. Room." She backed up one step, a frightened look suddenly come into her eye. Jayne didn't bother to waste another second, slamming the door shut barely an inch from her nose.

He uttered an exhausted, soul-crushing sigh as he plopped down on the best beside River. She wriggled out from under the blanket, her pretty eyes blinking up at him in question. He shook his head.

"I ain't in the mood no more. Ruttin' girl killed it."

"I could do the dance Jayne likes," she suggested, leaning her head plaintively on his shoulder.

"Naw," he sighed, and he fell backward into the mattress. They landed together with a fluff of fabric. She lay on his chest for a long while, sharing heat and listening to his breath rumble in his chest. "_Wo de mah_," he growled after a pause. "Those two been nothin' but a nail in my foot since we took 'em on. 'Specially that ruttin' girl."

"Poor Jayne," River mumbled, playing her fingers through the hair on his chest. "Mustn't worry. We're almost to Angel, and the Delameres will disappear."

"Good riddance. Ain't been more glad t' get rid 'a someone since that fella I knocked the teeth out of." He smirked at the recollection.

"Protected my honor," she said as she placed a single kiss on his chest.

He sat up slightly under her, just watching and smiling thoughtfully. She mirrored him, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Jayne took the opportunity to lean up and kiss her straightaway. She smiled against his lips and gratefully reciprocated.

"Thought the mood was murdered by the rude redhead?" She asked.

"Hell, thought I'd _try_ at least, while you still had yer clothes off," he said with a laugh as he wrapped his arms around her to bring her in closer. She giggled brightly, something that seemed to make her eyes sparkle.

Then, just as they began to feel their old rhythm again, the entire ship rocked and reverberated in pain. River's fingernails scrambled for purchase in Jayne's shoulders as the both of them were nearly thrown from the bed. They sat still in complete silence for ten long seconds after, holding tensely to one another as they waited.

Finally, Jayne managed to mutter: "The whole gorram 'Verse don't want me gettin' sexed."

"Molly," River breathed worriedly.

In their haste to find their daughter, they barely bothered getting dressed. River threw on Jayne's shirt and her underthings. Jayne jumped into his pants. They were out the door in a flash. They were met with the barrel of a gun.

"Woah," Jayne said as he pulled the both of them to a dead stop. Standing in the corridor, blocking the way to the stairs, was Devon Delamere. He was holding the gun flat and steady, aiming the bead directly between Jayne's eyebrows. "Boy, where'd you get that?"

"Shut up, Cobb," he spat back, his childish tone lost. He leaned his head slightly to the left, as if speaking to the lapel of his jacket. "Emily, I have the targets detained in the passenger area."

"Rodger," his lapel spoke back. "I've locked the crew in their sleeping quarters, save for Reynolds, Washburn and the child in the cockpit."

"Molly," River whimpered, trying to press forward but held back by the wall of Jayne.

"Don't even think about it," Devon said gruffly, taking a step forward with his gun trained steadily on Jayne's forehead. "Unless you_ want_ your husband's brain matter littering the hallway."

Her fingers dug protectively into Jayne's shoulder, her lip quivering slightly.

"Where's Molly?" Jayne asked, clenching his fists dangerously. "What the hell _is_ all this?"

"To be trite, Mr. Cobb, _I_ ask the questions now," Devon responded.

"Like hell," Jayne growled.

"Are you challenging me, Cobb?" Devon asked, glaring hard behind his gun. "Because I'm the one with a pistol--"

Jayne wasted no more time as his hand swung out and he grabbed at the wrist holding the gun. A shot rang out just as Jayne jerked the gun away from its previous trajectory. The bullet ricocheted off of the nearest ladder and ripped through the door to their room. River was suddenly beside her husband and elbowed Devon in the nose. He cried out, and his grip on the gun lessened. Jayne ripped it from his fingers and kicked Devon straight in the stomach.

The young man crumpled, and in one movement, River had her foot pressed against the side of his face to hold him flat to the floor. Jayne had Devon's pistol aimed at the man's face.

"You're messin' with the wrong family, Delamere," Jayne rumbled, like ominous thunder.

"If I don't report back," Devon spat from the floor, "everyone on this ship will die."

"Yeah, well, we can take care 'a your sister, too," Jayne assured him, cocking the gun.

"Bigger than that," River said quietly. Jayne looked to his wife, puzzling out her words. Then, with a sound like thunder rolling through her, the ship rocked and groaned again. Jayne held fast to the rung of one of the ladders, and River swayed for a moment before copying him.

"Shit," Jayne muttered, his heart going cold in his chest. "We need t' get to the bridge."

"What about the deceiver?" River asked, pressing her foot harder against Devon's face.

"Can we kill 'em?"

"Too messy. Uncle Malcolm will be upset."

"Fine, let 'im up." Just as River released Devon from her hold, he leapt up only to be met with his own pistol to the side of his head. He crumpled, unconscious, and lay still at their feet. They moved him quickly to the room the Delamere's had been using and tied his hands and feet.

As River stood, she shook from head to toe. Jayne didn't need words to bring her close against him, his arms wrapped completely around her. He held her tightly for several minutes of silence as she let the fear shake out of her. Then, as quickly as it'd come on, she stopped. She looked straight up into Jayne's eyes, and he just nodded.

Molly was crying. Jayne and River stood in the stairwell just beside the crew corridor, listening in the shadows. River dug her fingernails into Jayne's arm, listening to the girl wail away in the cockpit. Mal's surprisingly gentle shushing comforted the parents slightly, knowing that she wasn't in immediate danger.

"Shut her up," Emmy's suddenly authoritative voice commanded. "Devon?"

Mal chuckled to himself, to which Wash responded incredulously, "Wait, are you _laughing_? Sorry, Captain, I'm just not seeing the humor here."

"If he's not talkin' back, they've probably got the boy tied up somewhere. Or killed, it's hard t' tell with those two," Mal replied, offering comforting noises to the girl he held in his arms.

"I said shut up!" Emmy demanded, sounding strained. "Devon? You take care of the Cobbs?"

"Taken care of," River said into the communicator she'd taken from Devon's lapel. She did a very passable impression of the man. Jayne smiled proudly down at her. "Cobb is dead, and the target is restrained."

"What, you're killin' me off?" Jayne asked in a whisper once River had turned off the communicator.

"More convincing. He would kill you to hurt me," she told him, her eyes looking glassy and far away.

"I'll try not t' die, then," he said as he smoothed her hair under his palm.

"Say that again?" Wash asked, his voice suddenly high-pitched and worried. "Dead?"

Mal was strangely silent. Molly sniffled piteously and continued to wail.

"Shall I confirm to headquarters?" Emmy asked into her communicator. "I'll need confirmation that the target is alive."

"She's alive," River assured her in Devon's voice. "Patch me into headquarters, and I'll place the communicator next to her."

"Affirmative. Patching in."

There was a hiss of static on the line, and River and Jayne moved back down the stairwell to avoid being heard by the woman in the cockpit. At last, a heavy male voice came in over the com: "Agent Delamere?"

"Devon Delamere, passcode 74732, reporting on the condition of target River Tam, also known as River Cobb."

A few moment later, the voice came again. "We've been tailing you for seven hours, and firing warning shots at your sister's command. How is the situation?"

River looked up at Jayne. "Under control. Tam is secure, and Cobb is dead."

"We'll need audio conformation. Setting up voice-recognition--get Tam on the line."

River took the communicator away from her mouth for a moment to take a deep breath. Jayne squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. She watched his eyes, and all at once hers were filled with very real tears. She brought the communicator back to her mouth, and the sniffling and burbling began. She never took her eyes from his, and she broke down into sobs.

"JAAAYNE!" she cried into the communicator, drawing his name out in a wail of anguish. It echoed long and loud in the ship, eerie and terrifying. She sent a shock through Jayne's chest; something hard and cold seemed stuck there now, and he felt for a moment as if he'd really died at the hands of Devon Delamere. She choked on a sob and moaned in seemingly very real pain. She took the com away from her face, controlling her cries and tears, and was suddenly composed again.

"Confirmed," said the voice on the other side of the com. "River Tam, formerly Cobb. Your work is commendable, Agent Delamere. Please instruct your sister to land the vessel on Angel as planned, were prisoner transfer will take place."

"What about the crew?" River asked in Devon's voice once again.

"They will also be detained, for trafficking known fugitives. Dispose of Cobb's body how you see fit."

"Affirmative. Patching out."

There was no more communication. River shut off the communicator with blank eyes. The corridor was silent. Jayne watched River's face worriedly, his eyes searching every bit of her.

"River? You with me, baby?"

She sniffled again suddenly, and her lip wobbled. She held a hand on either side of Jayne's face and pulled him in to kiss him fiercely. They stood there, hitched together at the mouth, for a long minute. She pulled away, resting her forehead lightly against his.

"Thought about the time I almost lost you. When you were shot, when we were married." She wiped away the tears. "Don't die again, Jayne."

"Promise," he said just barely. "Now c'mon, we got our Baby Bear up there, and Cap'n'll think I'm good 'n dead by now."

She laughed, a sad sort of laugh. "I was a good actress?"

"The best." He kissed her again, took a firm hold on her hand, and they headed back up the stairs.

Back in the side corridor, they listened for movement on the bridge. Molly's cries had lessened slightly, but she still whined for satisfaction. Emmy was pacing. Both Wash and Mal were dead silent.

"I can't believe it," Wash breathed at last. Something sounded broken in him. "Mal, did you _hear_ her...?"

"I heard her. Now shut up." Mal sounded grave. His cheerful optimism was gone.

Jayne peered around the corner. He could see the back of Wash's head, and Emmy's backside as she faced the stars. She was holding a gun. River read Jayne's thoughts, thought on it for a moment, then nodded. It was the best they had at that moment.

Both rounded the corner in the same instant. River was running, at her full speed, for the cockpit. Her bare feet made barely a sound, but it was enough. Emmy turned, perhaps expecting to see her brother. But she was quick. The instant she saw River's shape heading for her, she raised the gun from her side.

Jayne was an immaculate shot. One bullet right into Emmy's kneecap from his position at the side corridor. The woman cried out, one leg buckling useless under her. River catapulted up the stairs, not seeming to touch a one of them, and kicked Emmy hard under the jaw with grace unseen in a year. Before she could recover, River kicked her again, harder, to the side of the head. As the woman lay on the ground, River held her foot against Emmy's throat and threatened to crush it with just a glare.

"River!" Wash cried, looking bright out of the ashes. She looked instead to Mal. The Captain was grim-jawed and pale, holding Molly protectively against his chest. Her intent was clear.

"She's fine," Mal said, clearing his throat of any fog it might have. "A little scared 'n confused, but all right."

"Molly?" Jayne asked as he appeared on the bridge. Wash jumped up out of his seat, looking frightened again.

"Jayne!"

"She's fine," River told him.

"Jayne?" Mal was suddenly on his feet. "Ain't you s'posed t' be dead?"

"Why, you in the market for a new merc?" He smiled in the way only Jayne can. And, surprisingly, after a dark moment, Mal's lips curled up into a smirk.

"I need to sit down," Wash said woozily, holding his forehead as he lowered himself back into the pilot's seat.

Emmy Delamere moaned at the pain in her leg, which was quickly oozing out all over the bridge.

"Aw, hell," Jayne groaned, and got down on one knee beside her. "Okay, you better start talkin', or I'm takin' out your other kneecap, _dong ma_?"

Emmy responded by spitting in Jayne's face. River didn't stand for this, and increased the pressure on Emmy's throat. The woman gagged for breath as Jayne wiped the spit from his eye.

"Try this again. Who ya workin' for? Who's tailin' us?"

"We have no name," Emmy growled, her face pale. "We don't exist."

"You won't exist no more if I shoot ya in the face," Jayne responded, equally as fierce. "What d' they want?"

"The girl. The baby." She laughed. "If you so much as increase speed, they won't hesitate in shooting you down."

"Lies," River said, looking, if possible, more animalistic than either of them. "They want me alive. Want my baby alive."

"Jayne," Mal said into the silence. The merc looked up, keeping Devon's gun trained on Emmy. "We gotta talk."

"Kinda busy, here, Mal," Jayne scoffed.

"It's about _her_," Mal said, nodding down at the woman bleeding out on the floor. "I got an idea."

"Oh, great," Jayne said as he rolled his eyes and stood. Mal's plans_ always _went so well...

_Serenity_ had landed on a plateau not far from a small city almost 500 feet below them. The Alliance small cruiser had landed behind them--vaguely reminiscent of Tracey and that whole debacle. River listened very intently to the cruiser, and heard only four voices onboard. One was the pilot, and he was staying with the ship. The three other voices headed for the loading ramp. _Serenity_ hadn't lowered hers yet. They were waiting in her underbelly, waiting for the opportune moment.

"Agent Delamere," spoke a voice through Emmy's com. That was their cue. Book, Kaylee and Simon took Molly and locked themselves in the infirmary. Mal, Zoe, Jayne and River all had their guns loaded and ready.

"Delamere here," River said in an even better impression of Emmy's voice. "Passcode 74731. Ready for prisoner transfer."

At her signal, Zoe lowered the ramp and opened the first door of the airlock. Boots tramped in, and before they could peer in the window, the airlock closed back up behind them.

Confusion reigned in River's head as the agents' thoughts swirled around in hers, but she tried to separate herself from them. The crew aimed their guns levelly at the airlock, and Zoe opened the second door. There was quiet for a short moment as guns stared one another down. Then Jayne kicked Devon from his kneeling position down to the floor.

"You want yer agents? Here they are."

Emmy's knee had been patched up, but only just. Both were bound at the wrists and ankles, as well as gagged. The crew of _Serenity_ was hovering over them, gins ready either to shoot at the captured agents or the free ones.

"We're prepared to lose the Delamere agents," one of the black-suited men said calmly. "Taking the targets is what's important."

"She ain't yours no more," Jayne barked severely. "She's ours, and you're gonna have t' kill me for real before I'll let ya take one more gorram step toward her."

The eyes of the Delameres pleaded. The crew was dark and unyielding. The agents didn't move.

Then one man shouted: "Open fire!"

Gunfire erupted in the cargo bay. River took out the man who had shouted first. Zoe and Jayne made short work of the other two. Mal pounded the button for the airlock and sped out into the open. River followed. Zoe stayed with the Delameres as Jayne took of after his wife. It took only 30 seconds for the three of them to break into the Alliance cruiser. River snapped the pilot's neck before he knew she was on the bridge.

The three of them stood together on the strange vessel, looking around at one another with adrenaline pumping through them. Mal lay his hand comfortingly on River's shoulder. She shook her head, tears in her eyes.

"Not good for the family. Too dangerous."

"C'mon, Li'l Albatross." Mal was pleading. Mal never lowered himself to that.

"You're my family," River said firmly. "Won't put you in danger."

"Hey, I'm family, too," Jayne protested. "And I'll fight like all hell if you try t' run out on me."

"You three aren't goin' anywhere," Mal said, suddenly standing tall and asserting his authority. "It'll take more'n a few Alliance creeps t' scare me."

River rubbed at her eyes, trying to hide the tears. Jayne threw his arm around her, pulling her against him. She tried to hide her face, but he tilted her chin up. They stared at one another, nose to nose.

"Hey," he called to her. "You're my girl, and I'd go through worse for you, got it? That's it, ain't nothin' else t' say."

"Got it," she said, managing a paltry smile for him. "My _hui xiong_... my Papa Bear."

"Damn straight." He kissed her forehead then pulled her against his chest as he turned to talk to Mal. "Me, River 'n the Cub can lay low at my Ma's. No one but the Cobbs know where we are, save fer you on this ship, and none 'a them would rat us out. This ain't gonna end here, Mal, and I don't want _Serenity_ shot out 'a the sky any more 'n you do."

Mal seemed to think it over very hard. He then shook his head. "You're my crew. I don't abandon my crew."

When the entire crew of Serenity appeared on Ma Cobb's doorstep, she simply smiled warmly at them and invited them in for a late lunch.

* * *

_zu zhou_ - curse (lit. explitive) 

AN: Hello, folks, it's me again! This was one of my favorites to write out of all the series. Seriously, this was great fun, even if it's incredibly intense for me to write. I really don't have a lot to say about this chapter other than I'm really pleased with it. If anyone has anything to suggest, or if I've missed something glaring, please don't hesitate! So, please enjoy, leave me some love, and KEEP STAYING AWESOME!


	10. Gemini

**Gemini**

* * *

_Gemini_ (The Twins) : Keyword: "I think". Logical, inquisitive, lively, active, curious, multi-tasking, talkative, sociable, duality, mercurial, whimsical, restless, informed. _Ruling Planet_ : Mercury : Mentality, communication, (especially for short distances), thought processes, teaching, schooling and basic education, literary pursuits, the immediate environment or neighborhood, capacity to be logical, detached and rational. Ruler of the zodiac signs Gemini and Virgo.

* * *

The sunrise on Aberdeen broke the cold of night with a whisper, bringing with it a hanging mist that mingled in the orange sunlight on the dewy ground. Jayne Cobb watched in silence, a morning breeze stirring just at his boots. He stood halfway to the barn in the middle of the pasture, staring out to the east, the sun turned south for the summer.

The calf-high grass shifted behind him but he didn't turn. He knew the sound of her footsteps even when she didn't make a sound. River approached from behind, slipping her arm around his and pulling herself close against his side. His mouth turned down, hard and cold and sad against the soft rising sun. River pressed her forehead into his upper arm as she cradled herself to him.

"Never woke up," she said quietly. "Simon checked. He's gone, Jayne."

"Son of a bitch," Jayne growled, his voice catching painfully. "That son of a bitch. He ain't allowed to go nowhere." He wasn't even trying to hide the sound of the oncoming flood.

"Respect the dead, Jayne," she whispered into his arm. Her fingers stroked up and down his forearm calmingly, lovingly. "Lived a good life, said so himself. Knew he wasn't going to wake up."

When his knees finally buckled from under him, she went with him into the grass. She held him against her chest and stroked his hair, his back, watching the sunrise with her own silent tears to match her husband's. She swore that she would, of course, never tell Geoff.

The sun was high before anyone found time to work. Jayne secluded himself in the barn with the five milk cows Ma and Geoff had managed to take care of thus far. Ma wanted the funeral at dusk. Mal volunteered to dig. Geoff joined him.

They lit lanterns around the patch of dirt Ma had fenced off far behind the house a long time ago. Three mounds of dirt, two old graves and one fresh one. Amos Cobb, died when Geoff was only three, leaving Jayne the man of the house. Amos Jr., the first of Ma's children who fell dead to disease before his teeth came in. And now a third Cobb joined the plot with a rough headstone with only room for his name. Matthew Horace Cobb, taken by the damp-lung that had him marked since childhood. He died in his sleep.

Book opened his Bible to a dog-eared passage and ran fingers over familiar text. He tested the silk ribbon between thumb and forefinger, sweeping eyes over the lantern-lit congregation. Kaylee clung to Simon's side, a comforting coo from her to him; Geoff, with the dirt of his brother's grave still smudged on his face; Mal, leaning sadly on his shovel and Inara standing with a soft hand anchored on his shoulder; Wash and Zoe with hands clutched tight almost out of lantern light, both leaned into one another as if to try and meld; and far off, Jayne, River and the baby, the eldest stone-faced and his wife wordless. Molly burbled happily.

Book snapped his Bible shut, and Ma, kneeling at Mattie's headstone, looked up worriedly.

"Preacher?"

"Mrs. Cobb," Book started, tucking his Bible into the crook of his arm, "the Bible has many words on death and dying. I like most of them; I could pull out a passage about the valley of death and fearing no evil, but it wouldn't be for your son. There's no words for Mattie in this book."

Jayne's eyebrows drew down as Mal's shot up.

"I'd like to use my own words--if that's all right with you, of course." He tried on a caring smile, and Ma nodded at last.

"Go on, Shepherd. Word from you is the word 'a God somehow, I reckon. You got a nice voice."

"Thank you," Book replied, bowing his head slightly. He knelt to the ground beside Ma and offered his hand to her. She gripped back, feeble but firm. "This boy suffered for his life, every minute of it. He was a strong boy to live it through like he did, and I don't think a soul here could deny it. I didn't know him as well as I should have, but he called on me for his Last Rites. I learned that Mattie was a determined young man--smart, strong, loyal, stubborn... and very much like his brother, who I can say I know a little bit better."

Jayne looked up at this, and one side of his lips twitched down. He tried to suppress it to no avail, and finally nodded in Book's direction.

"Before he died," Book continued, "he told me about his respect for his brothers. His love for his mother. His lack of regret. He wanted me to know that he had a good life. He wanted _all_ of you to know that he had a good life. He didn't want there to be any mistake." He looked up as Geoff knelt beside him, taking his free hand, but he didn't pause. "He wanted you, Geoffrey, to know he admired the way you took care of your mother when he couldn't. And Abigail," he turned to Ma, "for your perseverence in the face of hardship. And Jayne--"

"Don't, Preacher," Jayne interrupted suddenly. He yanked the cigar from his mouth and tossed it into the growing darkness. "I know he didn't say nothin' good about me. I can't read no one's mind but I know when someone's lyin' to me." He scooped Molly up out of River's arms and stalked away past lanterns toward the distant farmhouse.

"Jayne--" River called after him, her voice turning up into nothing and carried away by the wind.

He didn't return to his room. He'd shared it with Mattie years ago, and the cold feeling at the back of his neck kept him from moving through the door frame. He took Molly into the family room, which was dark now that the sun had set. The little girl bubbled nonsense in her mouth, yanking at the collar of her father's shirt.

"Gorramit, girl," he muttered, holding her close with one hand as he turned up the lantern on a side table. The growing pool of yellow light fell on the battered armchairs, the dusty table forgotten in the anxious last days of Mattie Cobb. Jayne didn't sit. The impression made by his father still haunted the chair, and he stared down in stoic silence.

Molly gurgled happily.

"It ain't right," Jayne muttered as he sat on the rug before the sagging armchair. he fixed Molly to sit cradled in his arms, her head wobbling to get a scope of the room from their new position. "I'll kill a man if I think he deserves it," he admitted, "but just dyin' ain't right. A man shouldn't have t' go like he did, Baby Bear."

She turned to his voice at the last, her toothless smile widening. She made a tiny crowing noise, her fist reaching out for his face. He dodged her initial attack and finally relented to her fingers gripping at his hair. It'd gotten long.

"Man oughta go down fightin'. Boy just went out like a ruttin' candle. Ain't right." He smirked when her other hand found his hair and she locked all her fingers atop his head. "You ain't got a worry in the world, Molly Cobb. Wish I was you sometimes."

She returned one fist to her mouth.

"Listen," he said, looking his daughter in the eye, "I don't care what the preacher tells ya, death ain't nothin' to celebrate 'less you're gettin' paid for it, _dong ma_? You gotta promise me you ain't gonna know anything about dyin' until you have to. You got me, Baby Bear?"

"Her brain waves spiked," River said as she appeared from the shadows. Jayne jumped; Molly was unfazed.

"Shit, _bao bei_, we been married I don't remember how long and I still ain't used t' you sneakin' around." She folded her legs to sit down beside him. "What's goin' on out there?"

"Jayne caused a stir when he stormed off. Left his mother in tears."

"Yeah, well," at least he looked guilty, "she was cryin' already."

"Even Aunt Malcolm was speechless." She ran fingers thoughtlessly over his knuckles. "You want to talk about it." A statement, not a question. She rarely asked questions anymore.

"Do not," he replied defiantly.

She brushed back his hair, which had gone uncut for almost too long. He didn't meet her eyes. "Still a man. Don't want them to see your armor crack even when they know Molly and I have already crawled inside."

"Cut it out," he uttered, nearly silent. Her hand didn't draw away.

"Molly likes it when you talk to her," she replied after a pause.

"She don't know what I'm sayin'."

"Knows more than you think she does. Like me. Like her Mama Bear. Taking it all in like a tiny sponge, and someday she'll squeeze it all back out." River attempted a smile. "Jayne?"

He took a heavy sigh before meeting her eyes. "Yeah, _ni zi_?"

"Don't live inside yourself. It only gets worse the further in you go, deeper into the cave, far back until there's no more light to see which way you came from. I don't want to lose you in the cave, too." Her mouth turned down. He didn't reply. Her eyebrows crept up. "Jayne?"

"What?"

"I love you." Her voice titled up at the end and she pressed her lips tight in response. Her voice wobbled: "Jayne, I love you." The last word dissolved as her tears bubbled up. She stubbornly wiped at her eyes and fought back the shake in her shoulders. She couldn't help herself. She still couldn't help herself.

"C'mere," he said at last, his voice low and dark as his fingers curling at the back of her neck brought their foreheads to rest together. She sniffled twice and fitted her eyes shut.

"Sometimes my head buzzes, and I don't know what to say," she burbled, a creek un-dammed. "It sounds different on my lips; I know what I want to say but I can't say it. Want to make you feel better, take it all away like you take mine away when I cry. I can't do it, not as good as Jayne."

"You're just fine, baby," he murmured, his own eyes falling closed. "Ain't no way t' fix me anyhow. You're stuck with what you got."

A half-giggle, half-hiccup escaped her and she calmed herself out of the tears with steadied breaths. His fingers were warm on the back of her neck. Neither moved, foreheads touching and eyes closed in the half-dark of the family room.

"When Mattie and me were kids," he said finally, breaking the silence with a voice that was unsure of itself, "he weren't strong enough t' play outside all the time, like I was. He'd look real sad when I went out for chores, but I always come back at lunchtime. Ma'd be in the kitchen makin' somethin', and me 'n Mattie--" He laughed, something surprisingly soft. "We sat right here, pretendin' we were off in the 'Verse, flyin' ships and raisin' hell wherever we went."

"My _hui xiong_ always raises hell," River whispered, her smile ticking up.

"I can't keep on thinkin' about him bein' dead, little bear," Jayne said after much thought. "Preacher's got his way of goin' about death and I got mine. Ain't sensible to worry 'bout Mattie any more. It sure as hell ain't fair, but he's gone. I got livin' folks to worry about."

"Makes sense," River replied. Her eyes opened in surprise. "It makes sense."

He finally smiled, watching her recognition grow. "First for everything."

Then, as Molly stretched her arms out toward her mother, she made a tiny grunting sound followed by two distinct syllables: "_Mama_."

River's mouth went wide in pleasure and she shouted an enraptured laugh as she scooped Molly into her arms. "Mama! Jayne, did you hear?"

"I did," he responded, looking slightly put-out. "Damn, I was hopin' for her first word. How hard is it t' say daddy anyhow?"

"Mama!" River cried, standing and sweeping her child up after her, eliciting a string of childish giggles. "Molly, say it again! Oh, Jayne, her first word!"

"Hey, she ain't gotta say it again. She already said yours." He stood to match River, leaning down over her to grab Molly's attention. "Can't I get nothin' out 'a you, cub? Just gimme a papa, or somethin'."

Molly grabbed again at her father's hair and gurgled. River shook her head, grinning. "She thinks you need a haircut."

"_Fei hua_," Jayne grumbled, standing back to his full height and pulling his girls against his chest. "She likes it."

River nodded, snuggling in against him. "Me too."

They had a late dinner, the crew and what was left of the Cobbs gathered around a table meant for more. Ma unthinkingly laid a plate at Mattie's place and didn't have the heart to remove it after. Kaylee and Wash helped with the food. Geoff still hadn't washed and no one thought to tell him.

Jayne, River and Molly emerged from the family room, parents beaming and baby babbling nonsense with half a fist in her mouth.

"Hey preacher," Jayne said as he pulled a chair out for River and the baby to sit. Book looked up solemnly. "Them was pretty nice words. What I heard of 'em anyways."

"Thank you, Jayne," Book said, nodding thankfully as he folded his hands before him.

Silence ensued as Kaylee and Wash began doling servings out onto plates. Jayne didn't sit at once, looking around at the somber faces. Jayne rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way, catching the attention of Simon and Inara, who looked halfway appalled at the man's behavior.

"Oh, come _on_," Jayne said finally. "What the hell 're you doin'?"

"Case you haven't noticed," Mal said without looking up, "someone died this morning, Jayne."

"Yeah, _my_ little brother," he retorted. "And if I ain't feelin' sorry for myself, why the hell are all 'a you? Geoff's just a kid, he's awright if he wants t' mope."

"I ain't a kid--" Geoff tried to interject, but Jayne continued.

"I was there when Mattie went t' sleep," he said, looking Mal straight in the eye. "So was you. He knew he wasn't gonna wake up, said his peace, shook your hand. I ain't gonna waste any 'a my time worryin' about someone whose worryin' is all said 'n done. Neither should you, Cap'n."

Ma broke into tears at the stove, where Kaylee wrapped her arms around her and comforted her. Kaylee turned her head to scold Jayne, it was written in her eyes. The Ma's arm emerged and waved off Kaylee's ire.

"He's right, darlin'. Mattie told me not t' cry. I ain't done so well, have I?"

"You done fine," Kaylee assured her, smiling carefully.

Ma dabbed away her tears and brought out her own smile. "Enough 'a that. Mattie's watching us all and laughin'. A buncha hens, that's what we are." She moved to Jayne's side and caught him in a suffocating embrace. She moved onto Geoff, who gasped for breath. "Gotta love the sons I got," she said as she cracked the bread open and sent one half across the table to Zoe.

The only light in the darkness outside were three points of red light, the ends of two cigars. Jayne blew out a puff of smoke with a growl. "These're the last 'a what I got."

Mal coughed into the darkness. "These are terrible!"

Jayne shrugged, lost to all three of them. "Got 'em with _your_ coin."

"Tell me," Book said, savoring his own cigar, "do you have a long-term plan for us here, Captain?"

"What, you got somewhere else you gotta be, Shepherd?" Mal laughed, half-choking on the oppressive cloud of smoke.

"Not as much," Book chuckled back. "I just have to wonder. We can't live on Mrs. Cobb's hospitality forever. And I know you, Captain. You're born to the sky."

"You got that right," Mal replied, "but you don't know me, preacher."

"Hell, _I_ know ya well enough, Mal," Jayne said with a grin. "Nice 'a you t' take care of us like ya been, but we ain't your responsibility and you know it."

"You're my crew, Jayne," Mal said, lowering his eyebrows just enough to be noticed in the cigar light. "What'd I tell you 'bout my crew?"

Jayne took another long draw and watched the smoke rise up into the starred sky. "I been thinkin'."

"Oh no," Mal muttered under his breath, bringing another laugh from the preacher.

"No, hear me out. Reason we're hidin' out is 'cause them Alliance folk 're still chasin' after River. Me 'n her killed a few of 'em on Dorian, and there's them Delemares we shot out the airlock after takin' care of those _hun dans_ on Angel. Way I see it, ain't no way t' know for sure how many of 'em there are or where they are 'less--"

"No way," Mal cut in. He threw down the last stub of his cigar and ground it out. "Your thought pattern's real easy t' follow Jayne, and I don't like where you're takin' this."

"What the hell am I s'posed t' do Mal?" Jayne raised his voice, hackles raising. "I'm hidin' out at my _mother's_, fer God's sake! I'm a dad now, and I gotta take care 'a what's mine."

Book blew another smoke cloud into the silence.

"You know what you gotta do, Mal. S'what's good 'n right. You keep us on and they're gonna get bored one day 'n shoot _Serenity_ right outta the sky. Ain't anyone here wants that."

Mal stared across the darkness at his merc, fists tight in apprehension. "Sometimes, Jayne, I like your plans even less than mine."

* * *

_fei hua_ - nonsense

AN: Uhm... hi guys. I mean HOWDY!! It's sure been a while, ain't it?! Well, someone (this is your shout out, **Sunshineali**!!) got me up off my ass finally, and I'm back around to finish off this little trilogy! It took me long enough, didn't it? I don't think I have a proper excuse for taking so long with this story (although it has a lot to do with Lost coming back and in full force, but we'll ignore that for now). Anyway, welcome back to the chronicles of the Cobbs! Sorry I started out my return with something sad, but I thought I shouldn't go full in to action yet, as I'm testing out my sea legs again. Time to put my Rayne-coat back on and get back into the swing of things. Lemme know how my comeback sounds, tell me if I need to fix anything, and leave us some love! And, since I haven't said it in a while... STAY AWESOME!!


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